Demily's Romance
by Criminal-Twilight-Minds
Summary: With what starts as a drunk night in Vegas, Emily and Derek decide to give a relationship a try. Through thin to thick to thicker, they only hope they'll be able to get through it. Mostly Emily's POV, includes the whole BAU team.
1. Las Vegas

**Another short Fan Fiction on my all-time favourite CM couple, Derek Morgan and Emily Prentiss. This is set within season 4 when the whole of the BAU team is present. Also, Henry is present despite that he wouldn't have been born yet on the show.**

 **I'm sorry; this has a lot of dialogue throughout the chapters. I hate that I always end up doing that.**

 **Reviews and PM's are much appreciated. (Let me know if you think the rating should be changed...I wasn't sure about it).**

 **-A xx**

 **Prentiss**

 _"Mistakes have the power to turn you into something better than you were before."_ -Unknown.

We stayed in Las Vegas for an extra night and we were staying all day tomorrow for Reid's sake. He was visiting his mother at Bennington Sanitarium. Garcia came with us for this case, so she and JJ spent all of last night in the casino with Rossi. Hotch was with them, but he was there more to supervise them than to gamble with them. Derek and I had been with them but we went our own way eventually, going to the bar and having a few drinks with just the two of us. We were both affected by this case, so we were talking about it for a while. We were drunk before long.

The team had found their way to us for a while, but they didn't stick around long. They were winning tonight.

"Want to get out of here?" Derek asked me.

"And go where?" I asked curiously.

"Somewhere quieter and less wild."

"You, Derek Morgan, want to get _away_ from the noise and wildness?" I smirked.

"Ha ha." He smirked back, "Come on." He drank back the rest of his drink and motioned for me to follow him. I did the same and grabbed his hand so I wouldn't get lost. Once we finally got to a less busy place, I let go of his hand, feeling awkward while holding it. We weren't together, as much as I may have wanted it that way. We were too different. I liked to drink and party sometimes, but I also liked romantic, quiet nights. He liked partying, dancing and sex every night.

"Want to go to Reid's room and see if we can find anything interesting?"

"Yes." I nodded and we went upstairs. We did this more than we'd like to admit. Reid had a room but we assumed he'd end up staying with his mother tonight. He always did on the rare times that he came here.

We took the elevator up and thought it was strange that Reid's room wasn't locked. Derek opened the door and we looked around for a while. "Morgan!" I laughed.

He came into the bathroom where I was and held up the 3 condoms that were on the counter. Morgan laughed and took one off, "For later."

I laughed and put them back down but it was a fake laugh. He was planning on going back out later and getting laid one way or another. "That'll fit you?" I smirked.

"No, just a joke." He smirked back.

We ended up going to my room which shared a wall with Hotch on one side and Rossi on the other. Just a coincidence, I guess. We sat down and I poured two drinks with the small bottles that they supplied in the rooms that they never told you that you actually had to pay for.

"So, who are you planning on sleeping with tonight?" I asked as I took a sip of the vodka.

"Oh, just a tall, thin, beautiful brunette with pale skin and dark brown eyes. A sarcastic sense of humour, level-headed, drinks vodka." He looked at the drink in my hand.

I raised my eyebrows, "Correct me if I'm wrong—"

"I'm talking about you." He nodded, cutting me off.

I smirked at him and leant forwards slightly, "And what makes you think you'll get what you want?"

He leant forwards too, his face only inches from mine, "I _always_ get what I want, Emily."

I stared into his eyes before he kissed me. I wasn't expecting him to have the balls to do it, but he kept on kissing me. I wanted to push him away before my feelings for him grew even more out of control, but it felt so right and I just couldn't bring myself to do it. It was aggressive and I didn't mind after this case, it was tough and I needed a distraction. I fell into the moment, kissing him back and relishing in the feeling of his lips against mine.

He pulled me up and I stood, walking backwards as he guided me there and pushed me gently onto the bed, climbing over me. I was moaning already as he kissed from my earlobe down my neck and to my collarbone, his tongue occasionally coming into play against my skin. It felt…amazing.

Was it getting warm in here? My breathing picked up as the intimacy increased greatly. My moans got louder as his hands roamed downwards. He laughed seductively, "Told you."

"Shut up." I breathed and flipped us over, taking his shirt off urgently and kissing him aggressively. My lips parted from his so I could breathe. He took the opportunity to kiss and nuzzle my neck as he undid the zipper on the back of my dress. My fingernails scraped down his back gently as he pulled the dress off me.

Once all clothes were off and we were busy, his groans and my moans were louder than we would have liked.

* * *

"Hey there." JJ smirked at me.

"…Hey." I gave her a suspicious look. The whole team apart from Reid was sitting in the café downstairs. Rossi had texted both Derek and I to meet them there.

"We were all in Hotch's room last night, playing poker and drinking." JJ nodded, her smirk lingering.

"We could help but hear the moans and groans." Garcia smirked too.

My eyes widened and went straight to Hotch and Rossi. Rossi laughed and a small, rare smile hung on Hotch's lips.

"Who was the lucky man?" JJ teased, "Who, by the sound of it, was extremely good."

I felt my face flush red and it got worse when Derek approached and stood beside me, "Hey guys." He smiled.

"Where did you go last night, pumpkin? You missed the show." Garcia said.

"I was with—"

"No, you were not." I cut him off as he pointed to me.

"Wait…you were with Emily last night?" JJ tried to keep a straight face.

"Uh…" He looked at me.

"Oh my god! You guys...did it!?" Garcia asked loudly. "That was _you_ groaning and making her moan so loud?"

I dropped my head into my hands and sat down.

"Wow…" Reid said from behind me.

"Hey pretty boy, how was seeing you mum?" Derek tried to change the subject.

"I'm more interested in your night…" He said, sitting down beside me. Derek sat on my other side. My head was still in my hands, covering my face and my eyes closed.

"Well, I've never seen so much regret in your body language." Derek said to me quietly, sounding slightly hurt.

I flicked my head up and looked at him, "I don't—I mean I do…no…I don't know." I made a fake cry and dropped my head into the table.

"This is interesting." Rossi said. I could hear the smile in his voice.

"Is that even allowed?" JJ asked Hotch.

"Strauss wouldn't like it." Hotch said.

"No! Strauss doesn't need to know and will never have to know. None of you need to know." I stressed.

"You're really loud in bed." Garcia said.

"You heard them?" Reid laughed, "Oh, this is great."

"…I'm not normally loud on bed…" I said quietly.

Derek smirked and laughed to himself.

JJ let out an obviously fake cough, "Ego."

"Okay, look. I was—we were drunk." I nodded, "It's not like it will happen again." _It's not like Derek would want it to happen again._

Derek was playing with a coin on the table to distract him.

"Oh, tension." Rossi said, looking at him.

"I hate this." I said quietly.

Derek stood up and walked away quickly, obviously either hurt of mad.

"Derek." I stood up and ran after him. "Hey, stop." I got to him just in the hall outside of the café.

"I'm sorry, but I thought there something there last night…" He said angrily.

"…You did?" I asked.

"You obviously didn't."

"No, Derek wait." I grabbed his arm as he turned around. He let out an aggressive and frustrated sigh and turned back around. He was very hurt by this, "I was playing it off as if it was nothing because that's how I thought you would want it. You're so used to one-night-stands and dating sex addicts. I'm not the kind of girl you normally mess around with."

" _Mess around with_? Emily, I enjoy messing around, but not when I _know_ that I truly like someone."

"You…you truly like me?" I asked hesitantly.

"I guess I'll have to get over it."

The whole team could see us right now; we were still in front of the door. "If I kissed you, would it convince you that I don't regret it and I would do it again?"

"What?"

"Derek, this is a big blow to my pride, but I'm going to admit to you right now that I…I don't see you the same as I see Reid or Hotch or Rossi. You're…more."

"What are you trying to say?"

"I have _very_ strong feelings for you." I blurted out quickly.

He stared at me for a second before he stepped towards me and pressed his lips to mine. I put my arms around his neck and kissed him back very willingly. This is what I had wanted for months; his lips on mine. After a few kisses, he laughed lightly, "Well, at least we were sober that time."

"The whole team in watching us right now." I said.

"Then let's give them a show." He smirked and started kissing me again. We had a very short make out session before my phone rang. He parted his lips from mine but left his arms around my waist.

"Sorry…" I got my phone out from my pocket to see Rossi's name. I looked into the café where he was holding his phone up. He waved with a smirk. JJ, Garcia and Reid all had large grins, laughing and finding this very surprising. Hotch had a real smile on his lips. "It's Rossi."

He looked inside and shook his head, "So let's get this straight, we both have feelings for each other?"

"Yes." I nodded and put my phone back into my pocket.

"And they all know this now."

"Yes." I nodded again.

"So what does that mean?"

"That we're going to go on a date when we're back in Virginia? And hopefully more after that?" I smiled.

He nodded, "Sounds great." He kissed me once more before taking my hand and leading my back to the café.

"This is going to be very embarrassing and awkward." I said quietly as we approached the table of enthusiastic and excited smiles.

"What a show." Reid spoke first.

* * *

We got on the plane late tonight. Reid had gone to see his mother again and we went out for dinner together before making our way to our rooms, getting out stuff, and getting on the plane.

Reid and JJ were sitting across from Derek and I. Garcia was on the couch, laying down and listening to her music. Rossi and Hotch were sitting across from each other on the other side of the plane. I was sitting at the window, but every so often I would look around and catch their eyes watching Derek and I. They were clearly discussing our new found relationship.

I readjusted myself and lay my head on Derek's shoulder, looking at the table in front of us.

"Aw." JJ squeaked quietly in an adoring tone. She and Reid were watching us and smiles.

"Cute guys." Reid mocked.

I smiled and snickered as I closed my eyes, "Shut up." I could feel 5 sets of eyes on us. I felt Derek press his lips to my hair lightly. I couldn't stop myself from smiling again. I had no idea Derek was ever capable of gentle, public affection that was so sweet and caring.

"She's loving it." JJ laughed.

"I will shoot you." I said quietly before opening my eyes and smirking at her. She laughed again and I closed my eyes back over. He put his arm around me and held me to him. It wasn't long before I fell asleep in the comfort in his touch.


	2. Mackenzie and Soraya

**Prentiss**

It had been 3 months and I was completely in love with Derek Morgan. He spent almost every night at my place, he cooked when I didn't want to, considering I was a terrible cook, it happened often. He took me out regularly for dinner, drinks or movies. He was very sweet all the time and he never got angry with me when I was having a day full of mood swings. We had to talk to Strauss and Hotch about it when we got back from Las Vegas after our discovered night and Strauss made it very clear to us that she didn't like the idea of team members dating, solely for the reason that she didn't think we'd last long and we'd drive a wedge in the team. I didn't believe her; I was completely lost in love. Well…I was before today.

Derek kept receiving texts this morning and he would change the subject every time I ask who it was. When he went to have a shower, I checked his texts. His most recent were from 2 females, a Mackenzie and a Soraya. How stupid was he to save their contacts, too? It felt like a massive hole was ripped out of my chest, and it hurt like hell. I put his phone back down when I heard the shower stop running and I decided to wait to see if we had a case before I started anything. If we had a case, I wouldn't bring it up until afterwards. If we didn't, I'd just bring it up tonight. I walked to the closet and put my jacket on. I adjusted my gold bangle and fixed my hair up as he walked in.

"You ready?" He asked, sliding his arms around my waist and kissing my neck. I smiled and turned around in his arms, kissing him softly.

"Yeah, get dressed." It felt wrong to kiss him, pretending everything was fine when, much to his oblivion, it wasn't. I walked out of the room as he got changed.

He walked out a few minutes after and hooked his gun where it always sat. He grabbed his keys, "I'm driving."

"We're both driving; I'm going to grab coffee for everyone."

"Want me to come?"

"No." I shook my head, "I heard Garcia wanted to talk to you about something before today started, so you should go down there."

He nodded, "Okay. See you there, princess." He kissed my cheek and walked out. As soon as I knew he was gone, I got my phone out and dialled Garcia's number.

"Emily! My, have I—"

"Penelope." I cut her off.

"Oh, are you okay, my angel?"

"I need your help with something."

"Anything." I knew she was sitting down.

"Okay, so please don't ask why yet, I'll tell you once I know whether there's a case and everything, but you need to pretend like you really needed to speak to Derek about something important."

"Why?"

"Because I told him you did and sent him down without me. Just, please? Please do this for me."

"Sure thing, but you have to tell me what this is about today."

"Unless there's a case, then I will after the case,"

"Okay." I could hear the stress in her voice. She felt under pressure. "Is it bad?"

"…No." I hesitated before I said it and she heard it.

"Love you, Em."

"Love you too. I'm bringing coffee for everyone."

"Oh, real coffee, you're a life saver."

"I know, I'm god's gift." I smiled to myself, "See you soon."

I hung up and slipped my phone into my bag before grabbing my keys and setting the alarm. I walked out and locked the door behind me. I said as quick good morning to the old lady downstairs who saw me every morning. She was sweet. I got in my car and drove to the best coffee shop in my opinion and got 7 coffees, made just the way they all liked it. This coffee shop always put a letter of the person it was for on them for me so I knew whose was whose. They were made in record time and I grabbed them and walked back to my car quickly. I was so distracted, my brain playing out different scenarios of how Derek would try to defend himself.

* * *

"Emily! You are amazing." JJ said as she saw the coffees in my hand. I smiled and put the trays on my desk. I handed JJ's, Reid's, Derek's and Garcia's before grabbing Hotch's and Rossi's and walking to their offices.

"Knock knock." I said as I pushed Rossi's already open ajar door. I walked in and smiled as I gave him the coffee.

"Thanks Em." He took it with a smile and looked back down at his book.

"Reading so early?"

"I wanted to finish this chapter before the case. I would finish quicker if I wasn't interrupted…"

"I get it. Sorry." I said quieter and smirked as I walked back out. I shook my head and laughed to myself as I walked back down the small platform to Hotch's office. I knocked and waited for permission to enter.

"Yes." I heard him say casually. I smiled to myself and opened the door, they were all in good moods; it was nice to see that even if I felt like dying.

"Coffee, just the way you like it."

"Thank you." He smiled as I set it on his desk.

JJ knocked then, "We've got a case."

I sighed, "Can't the serial killers just stop killing?" I mumbled as I walked out of his office. I heard him snicker as he followed me out.

"Hey, Prentiss." He stopped my before walking into the round table room where the rest of the team already was.

"Yes?" I asked him.

"Are you okay?"

"…Yeah." I nodded, "I…I will be. Don't worry about it, completely not work related." I walked into the room before he could continue.

I sat down beside Derek in the seat where I always sat but I avoided his eyes. We discussed the case as we always did as Garcia presented it to us.

"Wheels up in thirty. Prentiss, stay here." Hotch said once we finished talking.

"What'd you do?" Derek asked in a teasing tone as he and the others stood up. None of them had actually moved away from the table yet.

"Not Mackenzie or Soraya, that's for sure." I said quietly.

"What?" He gave me a suspicious look.

"No one's texting me, princess." I quoted what he said this morning in a mocking voice.

"Ah, that's what it's about." Hotch said quietly.

"Can I go, then?" I asked Hotch. He nodded and I stood up, "Great."

"Emily." He grabbed my arm. No one dared to move now.

"Get your hand off me before I shoot it off me." I said to him menacingly. "I can't believe Strauss was actually right for once." I shook my head and walked out of the room. Derek was shocked. He couldn't move or speak.

"You're a pig." I heard JJ said before I heard her footsteps catch up to me. I went to my desk and sat down as she hugged me. I tried hard to keep myself together.

I heard Reid and Garcia approach, standing at Reid's desk. "Hotch and Rossi looking? Derek approaching?" I asked JJ quietly.

"Yeah." She said quietly.

I took a deep breath as I prepared for the argument that was bound to happen. So much for saving it for after the case. Of course I had to blurt it out. At least Hotch didn't need to ask me and I didn't break down in front of him…yet.

"Emily, listen."

"No! You listen!" I stood up quickly and glared at him, "You promised me, Derek. You said you were done messing around. Do you have any idea how fucking hard it was to let you in?" Tears filled my eyes and I tried desperately to keep them back, "But you're just like every other guy I've ever dated; a deadbeat arsehole, waiting for the moment to tell me that I'm not worth your commitment. Next time you attempt to have an "adult" relationship, try keeping it in your pants." I turned and walked away from him and the team who had been watching in shock and confusion. I walked through the glass doors quickly and to the female bathroom.

I stood in front of the mirror and tears streamed down my cheeks as I tried to breathe. My chest was tight and I felt like I couldn't get enough air in.

JJ and Garcia both came in after a while to find me sitting on the ground, my head on knees, crying my heart out. I don't think anything had ever hurt this bad. JJ sat at my side and pulled me into her arms, hugging and hushing me. Garcia looked lost on what to do. She walked out and returned within minutes and gave me a bottle of water. "He's getting a real lecture from Hotch, Rossi and _Reid._ "

I laughed, "Reid?"

She nodded, "That boy is very protective of you."

I wiped my tears, "I can't believe I ever told him I loved him."

I stood up after a few more minutes of being in JJ's arms, "We have a plane to catch."

"Maybe you should sit this one out…or at least stay here with Garcia." JJ said.

I shook my head, "No."

JJ nodded, "Okay, but you're staying by my side and I am keeping Derek away from you until we land back in Virginia. Then, if he can't explain himself, the three of us are going out for drinks and getting very drunk and we will get you laid."

"I don't want to get laid." I laughed weakly.

"Yes you do." She nodded and stood up, holding her hand out to assist me.

* * *

I sat beside JJ on the jet, Rossi and Reid across from us. Hotch was standing leaning on a table across from us and Derek was sitting by himself on the other side of the plane. Garcia was on the laptop and the 5 of them were trying their hardest to make me smile and laugh. I hadn't talked to Derek through the whole case. When we were told to go and get some sleep at the hotel, I went to the hotel and then I walked back to the police station and kept working, trying to figure it out. I wasn't as successful as Reid would have been, but I was helpful.

"Do you guys want to come out when we land? We're getting drunk and getting Emily laid." JJ said.

"You're not getting me laid!" I said to her for what felt like the millionth time.

"Yes we are." JJ and Garcia said at the same time. I rolled my eyes and shook my head.

"No, you're right. Not everyone needs to be unfaithful." Garcia corrected herself.

"Penelope, you have no idea what is actually going on so stay out of it." Derek snapped from where he was.

"Don't make me slap you." I said to him.

He looked at me more pointedly, "Have you slept at all since we left Virginia?"

"Don't try and change the subject." I shook my head and glared at him.

"No seriously, Emily. You looked exhausted and like you could pass out at any second."

I rolled my eyes and looked at my phone as it buzzed.

" _Get laid!"_ It was Garcia.

"Garcia! No." I shook my head. JJ looked over my shoulder and I showed her the text.

"Listen to the girl."

"I don't want to go and sleep with some random drunk guy."

"Fine, sleep with Spence or Rossi. I would say Hotch but I don't know if Haley would like that very much." JJ smirked.

"Oh god, stop talking." I dropped my head back and laughed.

"Seriously, Rossi could use it. I'm sure it doesn't happen very often anymore." She joked.

"Excuse me." Rossi raised his eyebrows and smiled at her.

"And I'm sure Spencer doesn't want to die a virgin."

"Are you drunk?" Reid laughed.

"Not yet." She wiggled her eyebrows, "Do you want me to ask Will for the favour? Just this once because I don't want you to fall in love with him."

I laughed again, "I am begging you to stop."

"I don't see you on your hands and knees. Hotch is already standing." She smirked at me.

I made an "O" with my mouth and scoffed, "JJ! I'm not a skank."

"Do you remember that one time—"

"Oh my god, stop. I remember very well."

She laughed.

"What?" Reid gave me a suspicious look.

"I met this guy once like, I don't know, last year. I went to his hotel room with him and…yeah…and as it turned out, he thought I was a prostitute."

JJ and Garcia laughed as they remembered the story.

"Last time I ever dress slutty." I laughed. Derek's phone received a message and we all looked at him, "Mackenzie or Soraya?" I asked.

"Desiree." He stared back at me.

"Sure." I nodded.

"Do you want me to show you?"

"I want you to show me the messages between you and Mackenzie and Soraya." I made a disgusted noise, "Soraya is such a slutty name."

"Yeah, okay, I used to mess with Soraya, way before I was with you. She messaged me because she was in town. I rejected her offer and told her that I was in a relationship. She said to text her when I had a night to myself in the next 2 weeks. I told her that it was a serious relationship and that I was done messing around." He explained.

"Bullshit." I shook my head. He raised his eyebrows and unlocked his phone, stood up and walked over to me, passing me the phone. I took it hesitantly and the whole plane was completely silent. Garcia wasn't typing or anything. She was sitting completely still, something she was almost never able to do.

I read through the messages and it was exactly as he explained. He told her he was in a serious relationship and that he was committed to it. He said he was done messing around. I bit my lip and slowly moved my arm out of the table in front of me and dropped my head onto it, "Shit."

"Maybe you should have let me explain before you made a scene in the round table room, and the office, and the plane on the way there and here now." He said, taking his phone from my hand.

"I hate myself right now." Garcia said quietly.

"Now hold on, whose Mackenzie?" JJ asked.

"Are you trying to find something to make us fight?" He asked her. "Mackenzie is a young girl who was helping me out with something."

"With what?" JJ pushed.

"With figuring how soon is too soon to propose." He said quickly and quietly.

"Oh my god." I said with my head still down. I had tears rolling down my cheeks, "I'm a terrible person."

"Now can you please answer my question?" Derek asked. I lifted my head and looked at him, waiting for the question.

"Have you slept since leaving Quantico?"

"No." I admitted and dropped my head again.

"Emily, we were there 4 days." Reid said. "What did you do while we all slept?"

"Went back to the station and worked." I said quietly before lifting my head again.

"Emily." Hotch said in a disapproving tone. I wiped my tears and looked at my boss.

"Sorry…"

"Maybe now would be a good time to tell Hotch that you're not sleeping much at home either…" Derek said quietly.

"Derek!" My eyes widened as I looked at him, "You're ruining my life right now."

" _I'm_ ruining _your_ life? I'm sorry." He tilted his head and smirked at me.

"Yeah okay, I was wrong and I'm sorry." I dropped my head again, " _Very_ sorry."

"No problem, princess." He said as he sat on the couch. I lifted my head and stood up. I moved to him quickly and jumped onto him. He fell backwards and I left my arms around his neck, my head buried in his chest. He coughed, "Ow."

"That was cute." JJ said quietly.


	3. The Case

**Morgan**

I didn't blame Emily for her assumptions at all, she knew who I had been in the past, I had just wished she let me explain earlier. We had an unbelievable make up night when we got back home and I refused to fall asleep before her, so we were both up for a very long time. I scratched her back lightly all night, hoping it would help her sleep, but it didn't do much except relax her.

When she had finally fallen asleep, I allowed my eyes to close and go to sleep myself. I woke with my arm around her waist, holding her to me. My phone was ringing and I rolled over to stop it before it woke her up. I glanced at the time as I picked my phone up. Shit. We had both slept in. I picked up Hotch's call, "Hotch?" I said quietly, "Sorry, we slept in. I'm getting up now."

"We've got a local case Morgan, three murders and a letter sent to me. It threatens the whole team and our local families and judging by the murders, it's going to be a complicated case."

"Can Emily have the day off? She finally fell asleep."

"Morgan, I wouldn't advise leaving her home alone. She doesn't need to work the case in the field, but I suggest waking her and bringing her in for the protection."

"Sure, sure. We'll be there soon."

"And Morgan?"

"Yeah?"

"Be careful. Rossi will come to pick you up. Don't go to your cars. We don't know what to expect."

"Thanks Hotch." I said quietly. I hung up and looked down at Emily, sleeping with a small smile. I hated to have to wake her. I leant down and kissed her shoulder, "Hey princess."

She woke and moved slightly before her eyes fluttered open and found me. I smiled and kissed her lips, "We need to get ready now. We slept in."

"What time is it?"

"9." I said softly.

"Shit." She brushed her hair away from her face and sat up, pulling the sheet with her to cover her bare chest. "Okay."

"Hold on." I stopped her from getting up, "Hotch just called me. Rossi's coming to pick us up. We have a local case, three murders and a letter sent to Hotch that threatens all of us. I was going to let you sleep but he said to bring you in for your safety. You don't have to work in the field, so I can find a place for you to sleep there. I'm sure you can sleep in Hotch's office."

She smiled and kissed me, "You're sweet…but I'm working the case." She got up before I could argue and walked to the bathroom. I sighed and got up, finding an outfit for her and laying it out on the bed. I walked around the apartment, making sure nothing was out of place and it was just the two of us here. I put on a pot of coffee and sat down, turning the TV on low.

I had a shower after she had finished and I got changed in the bedroom as she applied her daily make up. I brought her coffee in a travel cup and kissed her cheek. "Thanks." She smiled.

Rossi knocked after a short while and I looked through the peephole before opening the door. "Hey Rossi." I smiled.

He smiled and walked in, looking behind him before closing the door, "I wasn't sure where'd you be so I came here first."

I nodded, "I'm almost always here." I grabbed my gun out of the locked drawer it was in and loaded it, placing it in its holster. I loaded Emily's and sat it on the table. "Em! Come on!"

"Do not rush a girl with her make up!" She yelled at me. I sighed and shook my head.

"Women." Rossi shook his head too. We both laughed and I heard her boots click as she walked down the wooden floored hall.

"Why's my gun on the table?" She asked as she put her jacket on.

"I loaded it, you ready?"

"Oh, I forgot my coffee." She turned back around and went back down the hall quickly. She came back with it in her hand and slipped her gun into its holster on her hip, "Now I'm ready."

We walked downstairs and Rossi unlocked the car as we walked down the path to it.

"How do you know no one hooked it up while we were inside?" Emily asked.

"I don't, I'm hoping for the best."

Emily looked at me with unsure eyes. I smiled and opened the passenger door for her. She stepped in and I got in the back.

"Moment of truth." Rossi said before turning the ignition. It was safe, we didn't blow up.

"You're in an awfully good mood for someone whose life was threatened earlier." Emily said to him.

"Garcia cheered us all up." He said as he pulled out into the street.

"Was Garcia threatened too? She doesn't get out much…"

"All 7 of us were." He nodded, "Hotch will show you the letter when we get there. Haley, Jack, Will, Henry..."

Emily sighed and looked into the side mirror. I caught her eyes on me and I winked. She smiled and looked down.

"So, you two work everything out?" Rossi asked as we turned the corner to the precinct.

"Yep." I replied, "All is forgotten."

He nodded with a smile, "You'll last longer than my marriages."

Emily laughed, "How long did they last?"

"Not as long as you're probably thinking…" He looked at her as he pulled into the precinct.

"Hey guys." JJ said weakly, hugging Emily and kissing my cheek, "Sorry about the past week, Morgan."

I smiled, "Don't worry about it. Thanks for looking out for her." I put my arm around Emily and kissed her temple. She rolled her eyes and she and JJ smiled at each other. Emily was very evidently exhausted.

"Round table room." JJ said before walking away. I looked at the window. Hotch, Rossi, Garcia and Reid were already in there.

We put our things at our desk and make our way to the room, sitting in our usual seats. We discussed the situation and Hotch explained that we are only working this case because no one else can. Usually, another team that weren't threatened would do it.

* * *

"Prentiss, you're not working this case and you can rest in Rossi's office. We already discussed it."

"Hotch, I'm fine." She said.

"You really aren't. You are extremely exhausted." Reid said, "We can see through the makeup, and the fact that you're wearing more than you usually do under your eyes says your hiding bags."

She raised her eyebrows, "Why do you even know how much makeup I usually wear under my eyes?"

"Just admit that you're tired." He smiled at her. "Also, you're normal tone and volume as dropped in your voice. You're talking slightly slower and your more monotone-"

"No. I'm not tired." She shook her head and looked back at Hotch, "I'm not tired."

"You are a terrible liar." Rossi said, "There's a really comfortable couch in there. Please don't do anything on it with Morgan. It's expensive."

She blushed and looked down. I laughed, "Damn, that was my plan, too."

"If I sleep now, can I stay updated and join the case when I'm rested?" She asked Hotch.

"I think you should stay out of the field."

"…Why?"

"Don't worry, he's making me and Reid both stay here too unless we're absolutely needed." JJ said, rolling her eyes, "He thinks we're weak."

"No, I think you're important." Hotch said casually.

"And You, Rossi and Morgan aren't?" Garcia asked.

"Rossi's lived enough, Morgan's tough."

Rossi laughed at him, "Okay, I'm not offended at all…"

A smile hinted at Hotch's lips and they both laughed.

They all stood up to make their way to wherever they needed to be to do whatever they were doing. Emily didn't flinch.

"Hey." I looked at her, "You okay?"

"I want to be in the field." She said quietly, "This is stupid, to leave me here because I'm not as strong as you."

"He's doing it because you're _important_. And I kind of asked him if you could have today off, so he probably thinks you want to."

"Why did you ask him that?"

"Emily." I said in an obvious tone, "You aren't sleeping well; you're exhausted and emotional because of it. None of us want you to push yourself too far."

"I'm not—fine." She sighed, "But I want to join you in the field after I get some rest."

I smiled at her, "We'll talk to Hotch when that time comes."

"Can I at least rest at home?"

"No." I shook my head, "It's too dangerous for you to be alone. Sleep in Rossi's office. He'll probably work in there, so he'll watch over you."

"That's just uncomfortable."

I laughed, "He isn't going to stare at you the whole time. Come on."

"Derek?"

"Yeah?"

"I…I can't fall asleep without you with me."

"I'll sit with you until you fall asleep, then I'll work."

"You promise?" She raised her eyebrows. I nodded in reply.

She nodded, "Okay."

"And Emily?"

She looked at me, waiting for me to continue.

"I love you." I said quietly.

She smiled, "I love you too." She kissed me and linked her hand in mine as we walked out of the room and towards Rossi's office where he was already sitting with a heap of different files and boxes in front of him. I knocked and pulled Emily in when he said it was okay. There was a blanket and pillows already waiting for her.

"Hey Rossi, do you mind if she gets some rest?"

"Please say no." She said quietly.

He smiled, "It's fine with me."

"Thanks." I smiled at him and pushed Emily gently towards the couch. She walked backwards, looking at me.

"Please don't make me sleep here. Let me go home, or even better, let me work."

I shook my head and smiled as I pushed her backwards lightly. She fell to the couch, sitting with a pout. I picked the blanket up, "Lay down."

"Shh, you're distracting Rossi." She held her finger to her lips.

"No, this is just amusing." He smirked, watching us.

"Lay down." I said more sternly.

"No." She said back to me. She crossed her arms stared at me.

"As much as you like to think you are, you're not intimidating me."

She let a huff out through her nose and looked away from me, staring forwards.

"Okay." I dropped the blanket and lifted her up. She squeaked quietly at the unexpected sweep. I lay her down and she tried to fight against me, trying miserably to hold her smile back.

I held her arms so she would stop trying to hit me away from her and leant over her with a smirk, "Sleep. And stop trying to hit me."

"I'm not trying to hit you; I'm trying to get you off me."

I grinned, "You didn't want that last night."

"Derek! Rossi is right there!"

He cleared his throat, "Uncomfortable." He sung quietly. She laughed and let her body relax, surrendering to me.

"Look who realised who was stronger." I mocked and lay the blanket over her. I kissed her once and went to walk away before she grabbed my arm.

"I feel like I'm putting a small child to bed."

"That's what it looks like." Rossi said with an amused smile.

"You promised…"

I apologised and told her I forgot and sat down on the ground in front of her. She lay on her side and stared at me as I spoke to her quietly about completely unimportant things. It always calmed her down so I had adopted the habit of doing it every night.

After a while, she closed her eyes but smiled when I asked if she was asleep to let me know that she wasn't. I groaned, "Please be asleep."

She opened her eyes, "You can go work now."

"You are not to get up or force Rossi into letting you help him."

She rolled her eyes, "Fine."

I kissed her again and stood up, "Call me if she tries to get up or help you."

Rossi nodded and I walked out, closing the door over and leaving it ajar. She had nightmares every so often that would result in her waking to her own screams. I texted Rossi this so he wouldn't be alarmed if it was to happen.


	4. Rossi's place

**Prentiss**

I woke to my screams. This is exactly why I didn't want to sleep here. I knew that when I was asleep, everything would stop around me and my mind would run wild. I sat up and desperately tried to catch my breath and calm myself down. I knew where I was, I knew Derek wasn't here to calm me himself.

"Hey, Emily you're okay." Rossi spoke to me softly. I heard several pairs of footsteps as my head was in my hands and my eyes were closed.

"Is she okay?" I heard Garcia ask quietly.

"I don't know." Hotch replied to her.

"Hey gorgeous, look at me." Derek's angelic voice spoke. My heart and head were both pounding at the same quick pace. My breath was unsteady and it was very clear that I was scared. I looked up from my hands and I looked to Derek. He was sitting in front of me on the couch. Rossi stood back beside Hotch and Garcia. I felt tears well in my eyes and I moved to him quickly, putting my arms around his neck and burying my face into his chest, trying desperately to find the comfort he knew I needed. "They'll alive, Emily. They're all fine."

After a few minutes of silence, I heard two more sets of steps walk in. JJ and Reid. This office was big enough for everyone, so I knew that they would all be here as long as they felt they wanted.

"What happened?" JJ whispered.

I felt Derek turn his head, "She has nightmares sometimes. This job affects her more than she's willing to admit. It's always different, though; connects with different cases every time. The majority of the time, she watches at least one of us die in front of her in a case, and in her dream, she's forced to watch and not do anything about it. No matter how hard she tries, she can't reach them or help them."

"Is she seeing someone about it?" Hotch asked quietly.

"She was for a while but it happened more often when she was talking to a therapist so she stopped going."

I stood from his arms quickly and walked across to Reid, throwing my arms around him. He died. It was terrible, at the hands of Tobias. But it wasn't during the case, it was afterwards. He overdosed and died from it. He put his arms around me awkwardly; a little shocked by the affection I was giving him.

"Is that why she calls me very early in the AM sometimes?" Garcia asked.

"Yeah…sometimes she calls JJ when it's her, other times she contemplates calling the guys but she never ends up doing it." Derek was answering all the questions for me. Granted, they were asking him specifically.

Eventually, I let go of Reid and walked back to Derek in silence, sitting beside him and closing my eyes.

"Which case?" He asked me quietly.

I shook my head. "After a case."

"I'm assuming it was Reid?" He smiled at me softly.

I nodded but I didn't explain anything like I knew he wanted me to. He always encouraged me to talk about it, considering, as it was already said, I wasn't seeing a therapist anymore.

"Care to share?" He asked gently. I knew the team wasn't planning on leaving. They wanted to know too.

I looked at him for a few seconds before looking at Reid. My eyes returned to my boyfriend and I shook my head.

"I don't think Reid minds. I think Reid wants to know."

I shook my head again. I didn't want to bring it up. Reid had tried so hard to recover to forget about it all once he did. I was so proud of him for that, but I didn't want to remind him of it.

"Okay." Derek nodded with a small, reassuring smile.

I looked at him and then the rest of the team, "Sorry…"

"I think I almost had a heart attack." Rossi said quietly. "Seriously, it was dead silent and then you were screaming."

I looked down and apologised again.

"You slept all day, you know. Its 5." Derek said.

"Really?" I asked in disbelief. He nodded and smiled. I smiled back and looked at Hotch, "Can I be on the case now?"

He thought about it, "Round table. Everyone."

I stood up with Derek.

* * *

"Before I consider letting you on the case, you have to tell us the dream, and about them in general." Hotch said once everyone was seated.

The all looked at me, "Oh, that's just blackmail."

He shrugged his shoulders and looked at me with the same blank, emotionless face as always.

I knock on the door interrupted and I was very thankful.

"Sorry if we're interrupting…we can come back…" Will said. Henry ran in to JJ. She lifted him up.

"No, we talked about it; you're sort of in this too. Sit." She motioned to the chair beside her. He smiled and sat down beside her. "We're just talking about Emily's nightmares."

"JJ, the kids' here." I motioned to Henry.

"He's not listen'." Will shook his head.

I caught Derek's eyes that had the same look in them since I woke up, "Stop looking at me like that!"

"Like what?"

"Like I'm the weakest person in the world." I rolled my eyes.

"I'm not looking at you like that." He shook his head.

"Well it's either that or you're trying to profile me, so either way, stop it."

"Sorry." He raised his eyebrows and looked at Hotch.

I sighed, "My dreams happen several times a week, I'm actually surprised you've never heard me screaming in hotels…um…they always involve a case somehow and at least one of you in this room right now or Haley or Jack." I shrugged my shoulders, "They're nothing, really."

"And today's one?" Rossi asked.

JJ quickly explained the situation to Will when he looked confused.

"Today." I nodded. I glanced at Reid, "Okay, I don't want to bring it up."

"It's okay." Reid nodded, "If it's that important, I probably think about it all the time anyway."

"Uh…it was after the whole Tobias case, after we had all found out about Reid's addiction. Only, in my dream, he never recovered from it and he overdosed and he died."

"I feel like there's more to it than that." Derek said, "They're normally pretty detailed."

"Can you not?" I snapped quietly.

"Emily." Rossi warned in a fatherly way. "Come on."

I shook my head and looked at Hotch, "Hotch knew it was going to happen but he didn't tell any of us or try to stop it. I walked in when Reid was convulsing and Hotch held me back." I said quickly. "That's it. That's all. It was a dream." I looked at Hotch, "I do not see you as someone who would do that."

Derek gave me a questioning look.

"I promise." I said to him quietly. "That's all."

After a few moments of silence, Reid said something that I didn't register and the room filled with slight laughter. Conversation circulated eventually and I felt more relaxed, despite the fact that there was a serial murderer after everyone in this room.

Haley and Jack came in soon and joined us.

"So, we're all staying at Rossi's tonight." Garcia whispered from my side, "I don't think Morgan told you, so I thought I would."

"Why?" I asked, not trying to keep it down or anything.

"Safety. We have two guards set up to guard the house. We're all safer with each other and families. It's crazy, this is real stuff. I don't think I've ever felt more vulnerable."

"It's what the job brings, Garcia." I smiled, "We'll catch the guy and you can go home again."

"Alright, dinner at Rossi's." JJ smirked, "I don't have to cook."

"Please, I do most of the cookin'." Will said to her. She laughed and kissed him quickly.

"Who cooks more with you two?" She asked Derek and I.

"Him. I can't cook." I said.

"She can cook, just not very well. She can make a good salad."

"We eat out a lot." I nodded.

"Well, you get homemade Italian tonight." Garcia smirked at Rossi.

He rolled his eyes and let out a sarcastic, "Yay!" He nodded, "I've always dreamed of having everyone in my house overnight. No funny business in my beds. I'm looking at you two." He pointed to Derek and I.

I felt my face flush red as I looked down with an embarrassed smile.

"You heard enough in Vegas, I think." Derek smirked.

"Ooohhh!" Everyone in the room let out like a bunch of 7th graders. Everyone except for Rossi, Derek, Jack, Henry and I. I assumed Haley and Will were told everything.

"Oh god." I laughed and shook my head, "Please shut up?" I asked to Derek. He laughed and winked at me.

"Yes, please shut up." Rossi laughed.

* * *

We all sat around Rossi's very large dining table. We had finished eating his amazingly cooked meal and now we were just drinking wine, talking and laughing. Jack and Henry were running around his house, playing together like brothers.

JJ looked at her watch and then to Will, "It's 9."

"I'll get him to bed." Will said. JJ heard the sigh lingering in his voice. I had heard that they were having difficulty lately with JJ always working and Will looking over Henry non-stop.

"No." She grabbed his arm as we went to get up, "I'll do it." She smiled and kissed his cheek before glancing at Garcia and I. She stood up and walked towards where she heard the boys playing, "Henry! Bed time!"

"9 already." Haley said quietly, "I'll send him in to say goodnight to you." She said to Hotch as she stood up.

I took a sip of wine as silence fell over us temporarily. Jack ran in and said goodnight to Hotch and the rest of us before leaving the room again.

"Are you two going to have kids?" Garcia asked Derek and I. I choked on my wine at the question. I put my hand over my mouth and coughed once I swallowed.

They all laughed around the table and waited for an answer from Derek or me. I looked at him to reply.

"Uh…we haven't really talked about it." He said to her, "This job doesn't leave much room for kids, baby girl."

"Henry and Jack…"

"Haley doesn't work, Will doesn't work as much as he used to." I raised my eyebrows at her.

"One of you could resign and take care of it."

I looked at Derek, "Does it feel like she's trying to get rid of one of us to you?"

He laughed, "Garcia, we _like_ our jobs."

"I liked mine," Will said, "but JJ wasn't giving up hers."

"Was Henry an accident?" Reid asked.

Will nodded as I faked a gasp, "Will, you need to be more careful."

Laughter again.

"You know, we never asked Reid about Vegas…" Derek said quietly to me.

I smirked at him and we both looked at Reid.

"What? What about Vegas?" Reid asked, "You didn't need my permission to do what you did..."

We both laughed, "Kid, we found a pack of condoms in your room. What was that there for?"

"Why were you in my room!?"

I tried not to laugh, "We do it all the time. We move some of you things around to see if you notice…and sometimes Derek takes things, apparently."

"That's an invasion of my privacy! Hotch, do something!" He said, sitting forwards and looking at Hotch. We all laughed.

"Sorry Reid, I don't have evidence." Hotch tried to stop laughing.

"You just heard a confession!"

"It wasn't written." Hotch and I said at the same time.

JJ and Haley walked back in together, talking about something probably parent related.

"Your child can stay with me when you're away on cases! I'll set up a child safe place in the corner and it'll be really cute, and it can stay with Kevin on those rare instances where I have to come with you." Garcia nodded.

Derek raised his eyebrows, "Kevin is never watching over a child of mine."

I tried desperately to keep my laugh in but I was very unsuccessful.

"What child of yours?" JJ asked hesitantly.

"I'm not pregnant." I said quickly, "Garcia is very enthusiastic about us having a child, though."

"That would never work with a job like ours." She shook her head.

"We know." Derek and I said at the same time.

"Do you not like Kevin?" Garcia asked quietly.

"Aw, baby girl, he's a cool guy; I just don't think I would want him to look after a child…I'd hire a trained babysitter who is also a trained agent. Or get…anyone else…"

"Why isn't Kevin here? Isn't he threatened too?" Reid asked.

"He's out of town." Garcia said, "If it's still going by the time he gets back then I'll call and tell him."

"He doesn't even know?" JJ asked.

She shook her head, "He doesn't need to worry."

Haley was looking at a very guilty faced Hotch, "Aaron, why didn't you tell me that our son and I were in danger?"

He sighed, "I didn't want to scare you…"

She shook her head and stood up, "Unbelievable." She walked out of the room quickly.

"Sorry…" JJ said quietly.

"I knew it was going to happen." He nodded, "I guess I'm going to bed. Goodnight guys. Emily, please try to get some sleep, I would like you back on this case."

We talked quietly for a while longer before we all decided we would go to bed.


	5. Waking

**Prentiss**

I couldn't sleep for much longer than an hour at the time. Derek was fast asleep, his arm around my waist. I decided that I needed some air so I slid out of bed slowly from underneath his arm. I walked to the small balcony door and opened it quietly, careful not to wake him up. I closed it behind me and stood in the cool air, looking out at the stars.

I sat out there for a while before I heard a gunshot. It hit the wall behind me and I dropped to the ground, putting my arms over my head as if to protect it. It only just missed me. I was breathing heavily. I didn't have my gun on me. I didn't see anything out there, though. It was pitch black in the nearby trees.

I glanced inside where Derek was sitting up in bed. He looked at where I was previously laying and I saw the fear fill his eyes. The light of our room turned on as JJ walked in, holding a gun. Another shot that hit the wall above me. My body was shielded by the solid rock railing but it was only thin.

Derek and JJ were both looking out at me now with horrified faces. "Hotch!" I heard JJ yell.

I kept down and opened the balcony door, a shot going into the glass, shattering it. Derek grabbed his gun when Hotch and Rossi ran in. They saw me instantly, both holding their guns too.

Hotch, Rossi and Derek exchanged a few words before they walked towards the balcony with their guns ready.

"No, you can't see anything." I stopped them as I got inside through the broken glass and stood with my back against the solid wall. JJ walked over to me, looking me up and down for any injury as she did.

"Where are the damn guards?" Rossi asked.

"Do we know who the guards are?" JJ asked. He shook his head, "Then one or both are probably in with the un-sub if they aren't them. Or whoever this is killed them."

"What the hell were you doing out there in the first place without your gun?" Derek asked.

"I didn't know I was going to get shot at." I looked at him with obvious eyes.

"Why were you out there?" Hotch asked, "And not asleep."

"I couldn't sleep so I was getting some air." I admitted. Will still carried a gun with him but he and Reid weren't in here. They must have been guarding Henry, Jack, Garcia and Haley.

"Get downstairs." Hotch said to JJ and I.

JJ pulled me away once I grabbed and loaded my gun and we went downstairs quickly. I saw blood on the back door as we walked passed. "Jayje…"

She looked and her mouth fell open, "Shit. Come on."

Another shot towards me, into the backdoor now.

"Son of a fucking bitch!" I yelled as I ran to the closest wall that would hide me from the shots. JJ did the same.

"Emily? JJ?" Rossi asked.

"Behind here…" JJ said.

I heard Henry cry in the next room and Will try to calm him down. They were right through that door. I held my gun ready and turned around the wall, aiming to the backdoor. Rossi, Hotch and Derek were standing at the staircase, trying to figure out a plan.

"Emily!" Derek yelled quietly, "Go back behind the wall."

My eyes widened as I saw a man at the door. He had a creepy mask over his face, dressed in all black with a large hand gun. The gun was in his hand but it was aimed to the ground.

"Emily." He said quietly in a persuasive voice, "Come here. I'll put the gun down."

He lifted the gun quickly but it wasn't aimed at me. It was aimed to the other side of the large archway. He took a shot. "JJ?" I asked, my eyes not leaving the man.

"I'm okay." She said.

"Emily, you know who I am. Listen to my voice." He was English. "Think back to London."

"Go back there; maybe I'll remember you then." I said quietly.

He sighed, "Just so you know, I'm not the man hunting all of you; I'm just here for you."

"Do you know who is threatening the others?"

"I do." He nodded. My eyes wouldn't leave the mask. It was terrifying.

"Who?"

"You can't be very good at your job if you need me to tell you."

I realised who the man standing before me was. My eyes widened again and gun wavered in my hands, "Clyde." I said quietly.

"Gold star." He said slowly as me took the mask off. "Your whole new, magnificent life you've created is just turning back around, isn't it?"

He lifted his gun too quickly for me to react. I felt pain rip through my stomach. He shot my stomach. I heard more gun shots from behind and in front of me. "Emily!" Derek yelled over the shots as I fell to the ground. A second later, I heard JJ's voice assure me that I'd be okay. I felt pain and pressure on my stomach as I opened my eyes and saw her press her shirt to the bullet wound. She didn't really care about only being in her bra right now. My head was pounding.

Rossi was calling 911 and my vision was fading slowly. Why would Clyde ever do this? What was he protecting? Or was he doing this simply because he had turned to the dark side?

* * *

I woke up to the sound or a low, reoccurring beep and I heard Hotch and Rossi talking softly in the background of it. I blinked my eyes open and saw the bright light in the white room. Why were hospital rooms always so bright and painful to the eyes? I looked around me. I had an IV drip hooked up in my left arm, I had the heart rate monitor clip on my finger. It looked like the typical hospital scene in movies. I took in a deep breath and pain shot through me both down and up from my stomach. There were talking about a case.

I looked around again before they noticed that I was awake.

"Hey Emily." Rossi said quietly as they walked over to me.

"How did I get here and how long has it been?"

"You don't remember?" Hotch asked. I shook my head, I didn't remember much. I remember being at Rossi's.

"She hit her head when she fell…" Rossi said quietly, reminding him.

"Emily, our whole team was threatened by a murderer. We were all at Rossi's for safety, you were shot at outside on the balcony in the middle of the night 3 times. You weren't hit, though. Then you went downstairs with JJ and you were shot at again through the back door. You confronted the shooter who was wearing an unusual mask. He explained that he wasn't the man hunting all of us, but rather just you. He shot you in the abdomen and Derek shot him. He died." Hotch said.

Everything came rushing back after that explanation. I remember it all and all he left out. "Clyde." I closed my eyes.

"Yeah, but he missed you on the balcony on purpose. He shot you in the stomach but he knew what he was doing. He didn't do any serious, life-threatening damage. He did the best he could to make sure you would survive the shot." Rossi said.

Why did he shoot me if he didn't intend to kill me? Was he or someone he knew threatened and this was how they survived? Why did Derek kill him if it was only me he was after? _Stupid._ Of course Derek would kill him, you are his girlfriend. He was trying to protect you. He probably risked his life to do that.

"How long?"

"You've been in here for 5 days…we knew how argumentative and uncooperative you'd be so they kept you asleep…" Rossi said, "You needed it anyway. We've been working non-stop on the case."

I took a light breath, wincing at the pain that still spread through me. I would be in here a while if this pain kept up, "Can we repaint this room a dark colour?" I asked quietly.

They both laughed, "You were shot and passed out from the pain and blood but you're still making jokes?" Rossi raised his eyebrows, "This team is insane."

"Do you want us to call Derek? He went to go eat some real food with the others." Hotch said.

I shook my head, "No. You should go eat, though."

Rossi shook his head, "If we leave you alone, you'll persuade the doctors to let you out. We know you, Emily." He smirked.

A nurse walked in and smiled at me when I looked at her. She looked at Rossi and Hotch. "Do we want to put her back to sleep?"

"No." I said before they could speak, "But you can let me go home."

"I can't do that." She shook her head.

"Where's my gun?" I asked Hotch quietly. Her eyes widened and she walked out quickly.

"Don't scare the nurses." He shook his head.

I smirked, "It's the only entertainment I ever have in hospital. Have you found the un-sub yet?"

"No." Rossi shook his head, "We haven't received anything and there haven't been any more murders from him."

I nodded, "Who are the flowers from?" I motioned to the vase of purple and white flowers. They were my favourites.

"Garcia, I think." Rossi said as he walked over to them. He looked at the tag, "…Not Garcia."

"JJ?" Hotch asked.

Rossi shook his head, "I hope Clyde didn't do too much damage. Get better soon; they need you in the field. Good luck, the clock is ticking…" He read off the small tag.

"The un-sub." I said quietly. Haley knocked quietly as Jack ran in.

"Sorry to interrupt." She smiled at me, "Feeling better?"

I snickered, "Yes, but I think I'm still high."

"Are you going to be okay?" Jack asked me quietly from Hotch's arms.

I smiled at him and nodded, "I'm going to be fine."

He smiled back and started talking to Hotch.

"I was about to take him back to Rossi's; it's late." Haley said to her husband.

I looked at the clock hanging on the wall. 10 pm.

"Are you coming back tonight?" She continued.

He looked at her for a few seconds, his back to me. I couldn't see his expression or if he was mouthing words. She smiled weakly, "Didn't think so. Well, I'll see you tomorrow." She kissed his cheek and took Jack from his arms, "Bye Rossi. I hope you feel better while off the drugs, Em."

"Thanks." I smiled as she left. I looked at Hotch, "You can go home."

He shook his head and sat down beside where Rossi had already taken a seat. I was about to close my eyes before I heard Derek and Reid's voices. I forced them to stay open despite the overwhelming exhaustion that hit me. Derek smiled when he saw that my eyes were open, "Hey princess."

He kissed my forehead and I stared at him for a few seconds, "What?"

"Why'd you kill him?" I asked quietly.

Reid, Hotch and Rossi were watching and listening.

"He shot you, Emily."

"And I'm alive. He's not."

"Should I have not shot him?"

"He was Clyde." I said with guilty eyes. I knew he didn't understand me right now.

"Clyde tried to kill you while communicating with our un-sub, who is trying to kill you again and the rest of us."

"He missed on purpose."

"He shot at JJ, he shot you and he could have seriously killed you if he missed his shot by even a centimetre."

"He shot at JJ because she was trying to kill him."

"Emily, are you seriously telling me that you didn't want me to shoot him? What did you expect? Me just tell him it was fine and arrest him while you were laying passed out of the ground covered in blood?"

"No…I don't know." I closed my eyes.

"Morgan, she's not all here yet. She's still pretty high." Rossi said quietly.

He brushed my hair behind my ear and kissed my cheek. There was a seat beside the bed and he sat down, resting his head on the bed and taking my hand in his. I stared at our hands for a few minutes before taking yet another painful breath and looked over towards the 3 men still in the room.

"Hi." Reid smiled.

I smiled back, "Hey Reid."

"You're crazy."

I gave him a questioning look.

"You walked out in front of a man with a creepy mask holding a gun and you yourself didn't have your gun ready."

"My gun was ready." I defended, "He lifted his really quickly though."

"If your gun was ready, you could have been able to shoot him before he did you." Derek said quietly.

My eyes landed on Hotch. He nodded, "It was very dangerous and I'm going to have to talk to you about it when you're back."

"Next week." I said.

Rossi snickered, "You might be out of here by the end of next week, but you won't be back at work until another couple of weeks and until we catch this un-sub."

I rolled my eyes, "I'll be fine."

He gave me an amused smile, "Go to sleep."

I looked back at Derek, "Have you fed Clooney and Sergio?"

He smiled at me, "No, I got that lady that lives down the hall to do it."

"She's like 100 years old. Clooney scares me, let alone her."

"Hey, don't hate the dog." He shook his head and smiled, kissing my lips softly, "Now go to sleep."

* * *

 **Yes, she has Sergio despite the fact that this set in season 4, but I love that cat, guys. I'm going to be a crazy cat lady one day. How are you liking this so far?**

 **-A xx**


	6. Surprise!

**Prentiss**

A week had passed and instead of helping my team, I was stuck worrying in the hospital with Garcia and her laptop as she spoke to them out in the field. Then I was left with an explanation of what happened but I felt like they were all leaving something out. I didn't care how small the fact may be, I wanted to know.

"Derek." I was able to sit up now and move a bit more. I would be able to go home tomorrow if I took it easy. I planned to sit in the office until Hotch finally let me back on the team. "What are you leaving out?"

Everyone had left us alone for a while so we could talk privately between ourselves.

"I'm not leaving—"

"You are. I'm a profiler too. What is it?"

He sighed, "It's nothing important." He rolled up his sleeve to reveal a bandage and a spot of blood on his upper arm.

"You were shot!?"

"No big deal, I'll be fine soon, it didn't do any damage. Yours is worse."

"Why couldn't you just tell me that?"

"Because I didn't want you to worry like you are now. Emily, I'm fine."

He looked okay, he sounded sincere. He was moving his arm and picking things up. I decided to believe him as he moved over to me and kissed me once. He went to pull away but I put my hand behind his neck and pulled his mouth back to mine. We made out for a few minutes before I heard a knock and Reid clear his throat. I sighed and looked down.

"Hey kid." Derek said causally. I could hear the smile in his voice.

"Gross…okay, Hotch said we all have tomorrow off. I'm heading off to Vegas to see my mum and I just wanted to say bye."

Derek nodded, "See you Monday. Don't go sleeping with too many girls…"

He shook his head with an embarrassed laugh.

"Have fun Reid." I smiled, "Tell your mum I said hey."

He nodded, "Bye."

Once he was gone, Derek turned back to me, "Where were we, again?"

I laughed and shook my head, "You won't be able to get laid for a long time."

"It's been 2 weeks, it's killing me. It's going to be another month before I even consider asking you if you feel okay for it."

"Agent Prentiss, great news. All your tests and scans showed up completely positive. You can go home today if you would like." My nurse said as she walked in with a smile.

"Right now?" I asked in hope. She nodded and I thanked her. She walked over to unhook everything from me and helped me up. It stood up and smiled at Derek.

I pulled my shirt up slightly to view my abdomen where the bullet penetrated. It was very ugly.

"Now, you need to take it very easy. Lots of rest, no…physical activities for a month at the least." She looked at Derek, "And I wouldn't advise you to go back to work for at least one or two months."

"Can I go back and sit with the analyst in front of her computers all day? Do paperwork?"

She thought about it, "If you really have to, that should be okay."

"Can you please tell my boss that?" I smiled at her.

She laughed to herself and nodded, "They're all in the waiting room."

"Thanks." I smiled and she walked out. "No physical activities. Damn…" I laughed as I walked to Derek. I put my arms around his neck, his slung on my hips. I kissed him a few times before dropping my arms, "That was painful to stretch out."

"Do the doctors know how much pain you're still in?"

I held my finger to my lips to shush him and smiled. I grabbed my phone, my badge and wallet from the table beside the bed and walked out of the room with Derek. I had showered about an hour ago and I was already in fresh clothing.

He opened the large doors into the waiting room and I walked in. JJ smiled wide and stood up, walking to me and hugging me gently. Garcia and Rossi did the same. Hotch smiled and nodded, "I see you already got the doctor to assure me that you can do paperwork and sit with Garcia."

I smirked and nodded.

"You didn't happen to threaten her again, did you?" Rossi asked.

"I didn't threaten her; I just asked where my gun was…" I defended. He rolled his eyes and smiled.

Will walked in with Henry and he ran up to me, "Emily!"

"Oh no…" I breathed as I lifted him up when he reached me. I tried to keep the intense wince back but they all noticed it. Will apologised to me and JJ gave me a very sorry and unsure look.

"Emily, I still think you should stay—"

"Shh." I cut Derek off, glancing behind me where my nurse was standing in the administration office connected to this room. "It's fine."

Hotch gave me a suspicious look, "Did you lie about your pain?"

"No." I shook my head. I did a little bit, but I knew it would get better soon and I was so sick of the hospital and its terrible food. I smiled as Henry hugged me.

"I love you Emily." Henry said quietly. I saw JJ's face light up. She cupped her hands over her nose and mouth, clearly finding that too adorable.

I smiled, "Aw, I love you too Henry."

I put him back down and laughed at JJ. We talked for a few minutes and we were about to leave before a nurse approached me. "Agent Prentiss? I'm sorry to disturb you, but I need you to come back to the room with me."

I gave her a questioning look and followed her back through the doors. I saw the fear in Derek's eyes as I glanced at him when I turned around.

* * *

I sat on the bed and asked the nurse what was going on for the third time.

"Emily, were you aware that you are pregnant?"

I gasped quietly and my eyes widened, "No, I was not aware."

"Well, that's why I brought you back in. I wasn't sure if you wanted them all to know. You're about 5 weeks pregnant. The bullet has not affected your uterus or the foetus at all." She assured.

I stared at her in shock.

"Do you want this child?"

"I…I don't know…I would have to discuss it with my partner."

She nodded, "You and your partner both look like you'd be wonderful parents. I saw you with the little blond boy."

I managed a small fake smile, "Thank you."

She nodded, "Sorry again to disturb you. You can go back out."

I nodded and walked out of the room, down the halls and back to the waiting room. I walked through the door and realised how shaken I must have looked, worrying my team further, no doubt.

"Emily?" Derek asked quietly, approaching me.

"We have a problem…"

"What is it?" I could see the fear in his eyes.

"Come with me." I dragged him back through the doors and we stood on the other side of them to block out the teams hearing. "Derek…I'm 5 weeks pregnant."

His eyes widened, "Is it mine?"

"What are you trying to say?" I asked, raising my eyebrows.

"Okay, it's mine. Sorry. What are we going to do?"

"I don't know." I shook my head, "But I can't have an abortion, Derek. Not again." I had told him about that.

He nodded, "So we'll have it. Garcia will set up a baby corner in her office."

I snickered and looked down, "I have to resign."

"No you don't. We'll work it out, but we have a while, okay?"

"Yeah, okay." I nodded.

"Are we going to tell them?"

"Well…Hotch will have to know sooner or later. They'll know eventually anyway, so we can tell them if they ask."

He nodded and kissed me, "We'll work it out. I love you, Emily."

"I love you too." I smiled. He opened the door and we walked back in.

"What is going on? I'm freaking out." Garcia said.

"I'm fine." I assured. Hotch gave me a very suspicious look, "Really, I am completely fine."

"Hey baby girl, you want to set up that child corner in your office?"

Her eyes widened with excitement, "What?"

JJ gasped and smiled wide, hugging me. She got it. "How far along?"

"Only 5 weeks." I said quietly.

"Oh my god!" Garcia looked like she was going to pass out with excitement. She threw her arms around me and I winced.

"Garcia, careful." Hotch said quietly.

"Oh, sorry." She pulled away and looked towards my stomach. "Wait…if you—"

"It's fine." I nodded. "Derek literally just asked me if it was his."

"Oh Derek, she wouldn't do that." JJ said.

"I know." He rolled his eyes.

"Okay, you are all invited to my house, but I'm going there now because I miss Sergio."

* * *

 **So I was just going to end it here but if you all want more, let me know. I might be able to continue writing it. I am currently working on a Twilight FF and I've got a few other ideas for more Criminal Minds too, so I might not get regular updates going of I do end up continuing.**


	7. Strauss

**Okay, so it has been a while, but I got a lot of feedback and everything in my life, both school and home, fucked up and I had absolutely no time to write or even a half hour to edit and update! I'm sorry for the wait!**

 **-A xx**

 **Prentiss**

It had been 2 weeks and I had been having a great time, much to everyone surprise, staying with Garcia and helping with the cases from the office. I would have liked being out in the field better and knowing whether my team was okay or not, but I couldn't argue with Hotch and Rossi anymore. Strauss had to come in at one point and it got very ugly. JJ and Derek both sided with me but we lost one hell of a fight. Reid and Garcia stayed way out of it.

"Emily! They just entered the building." Garcia said excitedly as she stood up. I stood too and we walked quickly to the elevators, waiting for them to arrive. I stood beside her and waited eagerly for my boyfriend and friends to return from their rather dangerous case.

The elevator dinged and they walked out, smiling to us and hugging Garcia. I ran straight to Derek and jumped into his arms. He caught me and spun me around. He put me back down and my feet met with the floor. I kissed him quickly, "I love you."

He smirked and held my chin gently with his thumb and index finger, "I love you too, gorgeous." He kissed me back and I smiled.

"Adorable." JJ said quietly.

"Inappropriate." I heard Strauss's voice and her footsteps approach.

I rolled my eyes and turned around to look at her, "Sorry."

"Don't let it happen again." She said, looking back and forth between Derek and I.

I cleared my throat, "Yeah…it's probably going to happen again." Garcia tried to keep her laugh back. The whole team were standing to the side, watching.

"Prentiss—"

"I am _so_ not in the mood." I shook my head and walked passed her and through the glass doors quickly before she could stop me. I sat at my desk and waited for a few minutes before they all walking through the door and to me.

"Sassy." Garcia smirked at me.

"Those pregnancy hormones are going to get you fired." Derek smiled and kissed my cheek before going to put his bag by his desk. He came back to us as soon as he left.

"What did she say to you?" I asked him.

"To keep you in line and not get too affectionate around the office or in the field."

"And does she want me to lie when someone asks me who the father of the baby is, too?"

"Who has asked you?" JJ asked, doubting that anyone had.

"No one, I'm not showing yet." I smiled at her.

"You're going to get fat." Garcia said with a big grin.

I groaned, "Don't remind me. I already tried to research ways to not gain so much weight. Turns out there isn't much I can find unless you're overweight before you get pregnant."

"And you are not overweight." Reid clarified.

"Hmm, but what do you consider 'overweight'?"

"Not you." Reid shook his head and walked to his desk.

Rossi laughed, "The kid knows what a lady wants to hear."

I smiled at him and looked at Reid. He smiled and nodded.

"Drinks? And water for you?" Rossi asked, looking at me.

"Hey, I can—"

"No you can't!" Derek cut me off, "And stop trying."

"My mother drank when she was pregnant with me." I raised my eyebrows.

"And look how that turned out." Hotch smirked.

I made an 'O' with my mouth and laughed with the rest of them. I looked up at Derek, "Are we going?"

"Do you want to go?"

I raised my eyebrows at him, "You're giving me a choice?"

"I like my bed…so yes."

I smirked, "Up to you. I don't mind, but if we don't go, I'll probably fall asleep straight away."

"But what if—"

"You're not getting laid." I shook my head, "You heard the doctor, a month at least."

He rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Sexually frustrated." JJ nodded, "I know the feeling."

"How long this time?" Garcia asked her.

"Two months at the least. Seriously, I'm going insane. We're not even old yet. Rossi gets laid more than I do."

I laughed with them and looked to Strauss as she walked over, "Agent Prentiss, a word?"

I jumped down from sitting on my desk and followed her a few metres away from the team. She stood with her back to them and I stood in front of her. "Yes?"

"Emily, I'm going to give you and Derek a warning, and if I see that kind of affection around this building again, I will have to suspend you." She said.

I scoffed, "Erin, I read through the rules of the Bureau and the FBI in general and not once does it say anything about team members dating or being affectionate. It says that it is up to the unit chief to make that call. Since you are not the unit chief, you cannot suspend me for something that doesn't concern you. The moment _Hotch_ asks us not to be affectionate in the building, we'll stop." I didn't try to keep my voice down like she did. "And we asked Hotch. He doesn't have a problem as long as it doesn't distract us or anyone else in the field."

She hesitated, "I'll be discussing this with someone of a high power." She turned and walked away.

"Let me know how that works out for you." I called after her and added "Bitch" under my breath.

The whole team stared at me, "What?"

"Do you have a death wish?" Garcia asked me. She turned to Hotch, "Does Strauss carry a gun?"

I smiled and walked back to my desk, sitting on it again.

Derek pointed at me, "Watch it, princess." I smirked and winked at him.

* * *

I drank water as the others drank alcohol and ate Chinese food. The smell of the food made me nauseous and I refused to eat it.

"Is this you trying to keep your weight gain to a minimum?" JJ asked.

"This is me trying not to throw up from the smell of that food." I said.

"We should have gone with pizza." Rossi said quietly.

"No, everything makes her feel sick." Derek shook his head, "She only eats salad lately with minimal dressing because the smell of everything else nauseates her. I have been starving for 2 weeks."

"I told you to call Reid or Hotch or anyone and go out for dinner." I defended, "I'm not starving you intentionally…"

"Well I would rather eat salad than have you walking around sick and moody." He smirked.

"Trust me, as the pregnancy carries on, the moods will get worse and they'll change more frequently." Will said. He had joined us with Henry.

"Great." Derek sighed.

"Give me what I want and we won't have a problem." I said as I picked up a magazine from Rossi's table that Garcia had brought to show me, "I want this." I said, pointing a bracelet.

He rolled his eyes and took the magazine, "Of course you do."

"Look at page 8." Garcia said to him, looking over his shoulder from his side.

"What's on page 8?" Reid asked. Derek flipped through the pages and stared at Garcia.

"She said the bracelet, not a ring…" He said to her. JJ got up quickly and walked behind them

"Oh, she'd love that one." She pointed, "Or that one. Or these 2. You know what? Give me the book and I'll circle the one's she'd like." JJ took it from his hands before he even replied.

"Rings are on page 8." Derek said, looking at Reid.

"I still want the bracelet." I said quietly, looking at him. He rolled his eyes and stood up.

"I know." He said as he walked passed and planted a quick kiss on my lips. He walked out of the room and towards the bathroom. I got up and walked to JJ quickly.

She looked at me and I pointed to one of the engagement rings that wasn't too expensive, but it definitely wasn't cheap. It was a diamond rose and it was beautiful, "Forget the rest. That one."

"I don't think you're meant to choose your own." Rossi said, smiling.

"I do what I want." I smirked at him and sat back down as I heard Derek open the bathroom door. He walked back down the hall and wouldn't have suspected anything if they weren't all looking at him.

"What?"

JJ threw the magazine at him, "It's circled in 3 different colours. Get that one or die."

He picked it up from the ground in front of him from JJ's not so great throw and looked at it. He raised his eyebrows and looked at me, "You picked it yourself, didn't you?"

"…No."

"You are a terrible liar."

I smiled as the others laughed, "Don't feel pressured over the ring…but feel pressured over the bracelet."

He shook my head with a laugh and sat back down in his original place.


	8. Hospital again

**Prentiss**

Yet another week with Garcia and I was starting to wonder how she did this every day; just sit here and type and wait to find out if anyone got injured or hurt at all while they were in the field.

We were talking over the phone when I heard the lockdown signal sound. Garcia and I looked at each other and I walked to the door and opened it slightly to look out. A man stood in the middle of floor 6, our bullpen, hooked up to several explosives. How did he get in and get all that through with him? I closed the door and locked it and moved a table and stood it up against the door. Garcia assisted me with the heavy surface and she moved back to her computers.

"What's going on there?" Reid asked.

"Lockdown." Garcia said quietly. She turned to me, "Did you see anything?"

"A guy with explosives on him." I said quickly.

"What!?" JJ asked in a very anxious voice.

"Do you have your gun on you?" Hotch asked.

"No…and if I did, what am I supposed to shoot?"

"She's got a point…" Rossi said quietly.

"What do we do?" Garcia asked.

"Hope that the door and table block most of the explosion." I said, "There's nothing we can do except hope security gets them out. Maybe I should go—"

"Do not go out there." Derek cut me off.

"But I can—"

"Emily, that bomb goes off and you're too close, you'll lose the baby." Rossi said. My stomach dropped and anxiety rose inside of me. I started to freak out but I tried not to let it overtake me.

"Thank you for saying that, Rossi. Now she's panicking. I can't keep calm if she isn't calm!" Garcia said.

"Hey gorgeous, breathe okay? The door is closed and you put a desk in front of it, you should be fine for the most part."

"For the most part? That's not very comforting, Derek!" Garcia said in a frantic voice.

"Shh." I hissed her. The room went completely silent and I heard yelling behind the door. Security, agents and a suicide bomber all arguing and yelling at each other. They're all panicked too. I heard one of them ask if they could at least get the only pregnant woman on the floor out and I knew it was me they were referring to.

"NO!" I heard someone scream. I jumped and took Garcia to the ground with me off her chair as the bomb exploded. The door and desk was not enough.

* * *

I woke in the hospital, the familiar beep sounding unusually loud. I opened my eyes to the expected too bright room and looked around. I was in a shared room with Garcia. The whole team were in the room in silence or talking inaudibly.

"Hey." Derek said quietly, standing and walking over to me from Garcia's side. I smiled at him weakly and he kissed my forehead.

"Why does this keep happening to me?" I asked quietly.

He smiled at me, "You're a danger magnet now, apparently."

"Is Garcia okay?"

"She will be, but she hasn't woken up yet."

I felt tears sting my eyes, "I should have protected her. I could have done more."

"No Emily, you did what you could. She'll be fine. You did protect her and you took most of the damage that could be done." He nodded.

My mind when straight to the baby and a got a sick feeling. It wasn't okay, was it? My hand subconsciously brushed over my abdomen. Derek looked before taking a deep breath to calm himself and he looked back at me.

I nodded, "I knew it." Tears escaped my eyes despite my desperate attempt to keep them back. I sat up as Derek touched my cheek and he hugged me. My arms were around him and I buried my face into his chest. I tried to stop the tears but they just turned into sobs. He kissed my hair and hushed me comfortingly.

"Emily—"

"Shh." JJ hissed at him, "Let her grieve."

I don't know how long I cried in his arms but I knew it was longer than I wanted. I didn't want the team to see me this broken but I wasn't going to ask them to leave with Garcia still out. The looks on their faces were full of guilt, anxiety and fear. Derek kissed my forehead again and wiped the tears from my cheeks.

"How long was I out?"

"A little over 8 hours…one hell of a pass out."

"Garcia's been even longer…"

"She'll be fine." He assured again, "Trust me. I asked multiple times."

I nodded and wiped the fresh tears away. I looked at JJ and met her eyes. She knew I wanted her and she stood, walking to me quickly and hugging me. "I'm so sorry, Em." She whispered.

I smiled weakly as a thank you when we parted and she squeezed my hand before walking over to look over Garcia. I moved the thin blanket off my legs and swung them over the side. I unhooked the clip on my finger and took out the IV drip and stood up, leaning slightly on the bed in case I wasn't as strong as I thought.

"What do you think you're doing?" Derek asked me.

"I am _not_ staying in a hospital bed again, Derek."

"You're staying in a hospital bed until the doctors decide otherwise."

I rolled my eyes, "I'm fine."

"That isn't for you to decide, Emily."

I ignored him and grabbed the bag that had "patient's belongings" written on it and looked through it. I found my phone and saw several missed called from my mother. I turned back to Derek, "Did you call my mother?"

He sighed and looked down, "She needed to know."

"And what exactly did you tell her?"

"Not everything."

"Did you tell her that I am—was pregnant?"

"No." He shook his head, "I left that part out but I told her pretty much everything else…"

I groaned and dropped my phone back into the bag, "Why would you do that?"

"I thought you might have wanted her to know…"

"Derek, the reason you haven't met my mother since we've started dating is because I don't speak to her. Ever. She's worse than Strauss."

"She can't be—"

"No." I cut him off, "You don't know her."

"I know _of_ her. I think I might have met her once."

"You probably don't remember because you tried for so long to block it out of your memories."

"Now you're just over exaggerating." He shook his head. I walked over to him and placed a quick kiss on his lips before greeting Reid, Rossi and Hotch.

"I think you should lie back down." Hotch said in a disapproving tone.

"I think not." I shook my head and looked at Garcia. I would try not to dwell on losing my baby. It would be hard, but I would try to suppress the pain.

* * *

Garcia woke up about an hour after me and she cried when I told her about losing the baby. Derek stayed right by my side, never leaving unless he had to. I was made to lie back down when a nurse came into the room and she gave me a light lecture. I ignored it and got up again when she left the room.

Garcia was in better shape than me and she was allowed to get up after they looked over her again quickly.

"Can we go?" I asked no one in particular.

"You're not even supposed to be standing up." Rossi said.

I rolled my eyes, "It's fine."

"Did you go to university to become a doctor as well as an FBI profiler?" Reid asked me sarcastically.

I smirked at him, "Wouldn't you like to know."

"I do know. I know that you have not studied medicine to the extent of becoming a doctor and that you are not qualified to make the decision that you are making anyway."

"The nurses don't need to know that."

"Agent Prentiss! You're like a child who won't go to bed at night. You need to lie down and _stay_ lying down." A nurse said from behind me.

I groaned and rolled my eyes, "I'm fine."

"Did you know that the explosion affected your previous wound, as well? It's all fine now, you'll be _completely_ fine within a few days but you're not allowed to be at work at all anymore, so you may as well stay in here."

"I am not staying here." I shook my head.

"You are so stubborn." JJ said quietly.

Strauss walked through the door then and I looked at Derek. He currently had his arms around my waist and I wondered how she'd react to that.

"Emily, I assume you're well, considering you're standing."

"She's not supposed to be standing." The nurse said.

"Get over it." I rolled my eyes, "If I'm not okay, then the blames on me. You can discharge me."

She hesitated before my eyes turned cold and she nodded, walking out.

"How the hell did you just convince her that easily?" Rossi asked me.

"I didn't convince her of anything. I am capable of going home, she's just obsessed with me." I joked. Derek snickered and kissed my temple.

"Penelope, you look good considering the circumstances." Strauss said.

"Yes, I am completely okay, thank you ma'am. Emily got me out of harm's way."

Strauss nodded and looked at me, waiting for me to speak. I stayed quiet and stared back at her.

She sighed quietly, "Well I just came to check in. I need to get back to the office to help recover what's left. I'm glad you're both okay." She nodded and walked out.

"That was a deathly glare…" Rossi said to me once she left.

"I am not a Strauss fan." I said quietly.

"Clearly…" Hotch said. "And that little stunt you just pulled with the nurse, it's going to get you in a lot of trouble if you get injured again."

"I'm not going to get injured again, Hotch. They upped the security at the precinct."

"You're not allowed at the precinct." He said, "You heard her, no work."

"A little bit of work?" I tried to give him a mix of convincing and pleading eyes.

A small smile hinted at his lips, "Nice try with the eyes, but it's not happening."

I rolled my eyes, "Fine, but I'm going home today as soon as she tells me that the paperwork is done and I am finding something related to work to do at home…"

"Like what?" JJ asked curiously.

"I don't know…I'll get Derek to bring me some paperwork and files home."

Derek snickered, "I'm not doing that."

"Why not?"

"Because when I'm home, I'm spending time with you, not you _and_ your paperwork."

"Fine." I rolled my eyes again.

* * *

 **Okay guys, I need some help. As it turns out, I'm not great at coming up with plots for stories and I have a creative writing task due in two days for my year 10 exam and I only found out yesterday! The story has to involve, either literally or metaphorically, an hourglass and a box. Any ideas? Thanks :)**

 **-A xx**


	9. Work & Drinks

**Prentiss**

I had been grieving intensely over the past few days. I hadn't spoken to anyone on the team at all and I very rarely gave Derek a sentence, let alone a conversation. I wasn't allowed in the precinct at all and Derek brought his work home so he could be with me in case I needed anything or fell apart. He was called early this morning, around 5:30, and woke us both up. They had a case and they needed to get halfway across the country as soon as they could. Derek continuously told me that Hotch said he could stay with me, but I declined and told him to go. He eventually gave in and planted a long, comforting kiss on my lips before leaving in a hurry. I just sat in the living room all morning with Sergio and Clooney.

I got up at around 2 in the afternoon, got changed into workout clothes and took Clooney for a walk which was more of a run. After I got him back home, I went to the gym for a while, feeling extremely bored and strangely motivated. I still wasn't supposed to be doing any physical activity, but I was getting out of shape quickly and I had to undergo a physical examination when I was approved by Hotch to return to the BAU.

After about 2 hours, I went back home, had a shower and got changed into something more professional before trying to get into the BAU and to my desk.

I walked through the doors casually and was greeted by a few guards throughout the entry and I went to the elevator, trying to look as normal and stress-free as possible. I went to the 6th floor and it was still a bit of a mess, but it was work-safe so they had returned to it. Garcia's things were destroyed so she got to redecorate her whole office and she was very excited and pleased with all her new things, technical and decorative. It was all payed for by the Bureau.

I went to my desk and sat down, looking through the papers on it to see what I had to do. I smiled to myself as I started filling out some paperwork. I missed the feeling of actually doing something. Anything. Garcia walked out of her office and passed the desks before she stopped and took two steps back and turned to me, "What are you doing here?"

I looked up at her, "Paperwork."

"The doctor and Hotch said you're not allowed to be here."

I shook my head and looked back down, continuing my work. She sighed and shook her head before walking to the break room and pouring coffee into her travel cup and walking passed me again, back to her office.

About 5 minutes later, my phone rang. I looked at the caller ID and ignored Hotch's call. I put my phone back down but it rang again immediately. I picked it up and took a breath before answering, "Hotch?"

"Prentiss, go home."

"What are you talking about? I am at home."

"No you're not, don't lie to me. Garcia called."

"Snitch." I said quietly. I heard files or paper moving and knew I was on speaker.

"Princess, you need to go home. You're not permitted to be there." Derek tried.

"Why does no one believe that I'm fine?"

"At least she's talking now…" Rossi said quietly.

I sighed, "I've got to go."

"Prentiss, do not make me call Strauss. She'll get security." Hotch said.

"Then don't call her."

"Emily, I cannot legally allow you to be there right now. You need to go home or you could lose your job if someone of a higher power than Strauss finds out."

"I'll take the risk…"

"Emily, go home." JJ said. "I'll call Will. He'll make you stay at my house with him and Henry."

"No he wouldn't." I rolled my eyes before I remembered that they weren't with me. I suddenly felt very lonely. "How is the case going?"

"Don't change the subject." Hotch said in an obviously irritated voice.

"Well I think catching a serial killer is more important that keeping me prisoner in my home with nothing to do at all and no one to talk to and nothing to eat because _someone_ didn't go shopping before they left…"

"Why can't you go?" Derek asked me.

"Because you wouldn't let me out of the house! I went for a run with Clooney and I went to the gym and I'm fine."

"Emily! You're not allowed to do any physical activity yet!" He scolded.

"But I did." I smirked to myself.

"Do you have any idea how dangerous that could have been? That could have landed you back in the hospital."

"But I didn't."

"You're really proud of yourself, aren't you?"

"I am. Can you believe that I went against your wishes and I don't feel guilty at all?"

"I'm going to yell at you when I'm back in Virginia."

"I'll be waiting." I smiled to myself, "But you should get back to the case."

"You have a half hour. If you're still there after 31 minutes, Garcia will call me and I will call Strauss." Hotch said.

"Thank you!" I said in a relieved voice. "Bye." I hung up and returned to the work in front of me. I sneaked the majority of it into my bag so I could do it at home, said goodbye to Garcia and I left at 29 minutes.

* * *

It had been 4 days now. "I'm back, gorgeous, and I come bearing the team." I heard Derek call as the front door opened. "…And you brought your work home. Well played." I assumed he saw it on the dining table.

I walked into the room and smiled before my face dropped as I remember the news to tell him, "Uh…Derek?"

"What?" He looked at me as the team sat down and he walked over to me.

I hesitated and sighed, "Clooney is sort of at the vet…"

"What? Why?"

"He was really sick, but he's been there for 3 days and I'm picking him up tomorrow afternoon."

"I leave for 4 days and you kill my dog."

"He isn't dead and I didn't kill him! He might have eaten something when I took him to the dog park but I tried to make him drop it…"

"You took him out _again_?"

"That's what you're supposed to do with dogs…you know, I never liked him before but he's growing on me."

"You only _walked_ him there and back, right?"

"No, I ran." I said casually. At first I was confused by why that was important but then I remembered that I wasn't supposed to be running or doing anything tiring.

"I don't think I've ever heard of you running voluntarily before…" JJ said from the couch.

"I have to undergo a physical exam when Hotch finally lets me back on the team and I'm actually really unfit so I thought I'd trying to improve it. I've been doing it for like a month now and I'm losing weight, too."

"We've already had this conversation. You're too thin already." Reid said.

"Can you let me feel good about myself, please?"

"Sorry…" He said quietly and smiled at me apologetically.

I kissed Derek quickly and walked passed him, "Drinks?" I asked the team as I walked towards the kitchen.

"That's exactly why we're here." Garcia nodded with a smile. I nodded back and retrieved 7 glasses from the kitchen and got wine, vodka and beer. The wine and beer was for the team, the vodka was for me.

I took it all back in and put it out of the table in the middle of the several couches. I poured the drinks of what everyone wanted and poured mine last, sitting beside Derek with it but not looking at the disapproving look on his face.

"Straight vodka?" Reid asked me with a disgusted face.

"I wasn't able to drink for 8 weeks." I said to him, "I'm going to drink all the vodka I want."

"Ah…you're using alcohol as your choice of a coping method." JJ said quietly.

I shrugged my shoulders, "Sure." I glanced up at Derek as he sighed. "Yes, I know, I'm a disappointment." I rolled my eyes.

"I didn't say that." He shook his head.

"But you were thinking it."

"I thought you were a profiler, not a mind reader."

"I can do both." I smiled and drank the vodka, the bitter taste spreading through my mouth. "Oh, I jarred my finger." I showed him my very bruised finger. It was the ring finger on my left hand.

"How did you do that?"

"I got bored so I tried moving the furniture in our room around. I was doing okay before I hurt my finger. Then I couldn't lift anything properly and I gave up."

"You never do anything this active until you're not allowed to." Rossi said.

I nodded in agreement, "I know, but this really freaking hurts."

"Show me." JJ said as she put her wine glass down. I held my hand out to her and she examined it briefly, "That could be broken."

"I don't think it is." I disagreed.

"Great. Now I get to take you _back_ to the hospital. You're costing us a fortune." Derek said.

"No you don't. It's just jarred."

"JJ said it might be broken."

"So I won't use it until it heals. It doesn't matter." I rolled my eyes. I was almost certain it was just jarred.

"I would go to the hospital if that happened to me." He said, raising his eyebrows.

"Pussy." I smirked. He rolled his eyes and shook his head before taking the glass from my hand and putting it on the table. I went to ask him why but he looked at me with stern eyes and shook his head. I decided against an argument right now.


	10. First Day Back

**Prentiss**

Derek had been arguing with me all morning. He didn't think I was ready to go back to work but it had been a month and I wasn't in pain anymore, I was fine. He somewhat proposed to me last week. It wasn't a formal proposal with dinner or fancy clothing or even on one knee with a ring. It was a casual outing when we took Clooney out. He asked if I would say yes if he were to formally propose later. I told him that I wasn't ready yet and he accepted that answer with a smile.

"Derek, for the last time. I am fine."

"Physically, maybe. Mentally, definitely not."

"Excuse me?"

"Emily, you're drinking so much, you're avoiding conversations that will take longer than 5 minutes, you're finding it very hard to concentrate on anything for a long period of time. You're emotional and you could fall apart at any time."

"I am not emotional."

"Yes you are. Don't try and tell me you're not because I can see it every day."

"Well you're not emotional at all. It was your child too, why don't you—"

"I grieved when you were out. The moment I found out I left the hospital for a while. I grieved for about 4 hours before I went back and decided that I was going to stay strong for you. I cried and I still find it hard but I'm pulling through."

"I'll be okay, Derek."

"We don't know that. Anything could trigger that sadness or anger that you haven't let out."

"I won't show it if it does and I'll tell you straight away."

"Emily—"

"Please, just let me go back to work." I gave him my best puppy eyes and a small smile.

He hesitated and sighed, "The moment you go back to keeping to yourself, I'm telling Hotch, and you're coming home."

I smiled and put my arms around his neck, "Thank you baby." I kissed him and the plan was just once, but once I started, I wanted more. He didn't seem to want to stop either. It had been what felt like so long since the last time we were…physical.

"We have a half hour." He said between kisses as he guided me backwards. He lifted me up onto the dining table and I moaned quietly already. He laughed egotistically and his hands began to roam slowly, teasingly. It drove me insane. He kissed and sucked down my neck and I dropped my head backwards to give him full access. He smiled as he kissed across my collarbone when I moaned again and I smirked.

"Shut up." I breathed.

"No judgment." He said before his lips crashed against mine again.

* * *

It took a while but I convinced both Hotch and Strauss to let me back on the team, at least until anyone saw anything negative in my behaviour. Hotch said that Derek had my physical exam waived with little difficulty and I was allowed back on the team today. I walked down the steps from Hotch's office where the rest of the team were waiting for the verdict. I smiled and put my things on my desk.

"Yay!" Garcia said excitedly, hugging me. I returned her gesture and smirked at Derek.

"I told you." I said once Garcia stepped away and he shook his head.

"The moment it happens, I'm telling Hotch."

"It's not going to happen." I shook my head, "But whatever keeps you sane."

"How long has been since you slept together last?" JJ asked, sitting on my desk. I stopped moving files and smirked at her.

"A few hours." Derek said casually, turning around and putting a few things in his drawer of his desk. I knew he was smiling to himself for embarrassing me like that.

"Can you not?" I asked him as Hotch walked over. He looked suspiciously between us.

"The last time they slept together was a few hours ago." Rossi filled him in.

"Why are you even talking about that?" Hotch asked.

"I asked." JJ smirked at me, "That was the first time since, wasn't it?"

I nodded and looked around at my team. "Wait, how'd you know that?"

"You're both in unusually good moods." Reid answered for her.

"So that's why you were late." Garcia smiled, "That's a valid reason in my books."

JJ and I laughed and I glanced at Derek. He shook his head when we made eye contact and tried to keep his proud smile back, "That's not why we were late. We were late because Emily forgot to feed Sergio and Clooney after she told me not to do it and then she took extra-long to feed them."

"Clooney is on this special food that is a lot more complicated because you need to measure it correctly and you can't give him any more or any less and as it turns out, I'm not great at measuring things."

"We've found one thing that Emily Prentiss is not good at." Reid said quietly, "She can do just about everything else."

"No she can't." Derek said, "Trust me…"

I glared at him but it turned into a smile and we both laughed.

Garcia's phone buzzed and she looked at it. She sighed, "I'll be back." She walked to her office, probably to look at a case and see if we were needed. After a few minutes of talking amongst us, she came back into the bullpen holding files, "We've got a case."

We followed her to the round table room and sat down. Garcia presented the case that involved computer hackers, so she was coming this time. We discussed it and Hotch wrapped it up with "Wheels up in 20. Prentiss, I need to speak with you." So everyone stood and left me in here with Hotch.

"What?" I asked him, his eyes fixated on mine.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"Hotch, if at any point I don't feel okay, I already promised to tell Derek and he said he would tell you. You'll know if I'm anything but fine."

"Emily, you did lose a child."

"Yes, and while that may affect other people a lot more emotionally and mentally, I'm not as broken as everyone thinks I am. I'm a little offended, actually."

"We don't see you as weak." He assured.

" _You_ don't. I can't say the same for the rest of the team."

"Emily—"

"They're going to put themselves at risk while trying to protect me in the field and you know it."

"They don't like it when one of our team had been through the things that you have."

I sighed, "Hotch, I'll be okay." I nodded and stood up.

He nodded in understanding and motioned to the door to tell me that I could leave. I glanced through the window as I walked to it and stopped, turning back to him, "Hey Hotch?"

"Yes?" He looked up from the files he was gathering.

"If I come straight to you if I'm not okay, would you let me stay on the case to not raise suspicion with the team or Derek?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Even if I'm not okay, will you let me stay on the case and not tell the team? Would you keep it between us?"

"You don't think you're going to be completely fine." He put the files down and gave all of his attention to me.

"I will be eventually, but Derek said this morning that I was emotional and anything could trigger the sadness or anger that I haven't released. If I break, I need you to keep it quiet and not let them know."

"Maybe you should let the sadness and anger out…but I won't tell anyone."

"Thank you. The anger I could do, but how do you even begin to relieve the sadness?"

"A long time ago, I lost someone, a friend, and I needed to release the sadness before I came back to work. I saw a therapist for it and they were able to assist. I recommend you do that."

"I can't do that in 15 minutes before we leave."

"I could just insult you and make you cry." He joked.

I smiled, "You're a genius." He smiled at me and I nodded, "Thanks Hotch." I walked out of the room and around the walkway. They all stared at me as I walked down the steps and to my desk, "What?"

"What was that about?" Derek asked.

"It was nothing; he was just asking if I was sure that I was okay." I smiled and picked up my go bag. Garcia walked out with her bag of clothes and her other bags of computers and whatever technical stuff she brought with her.

"Coffee, let's go." She said to JJ and I.

"I guess we're getting coffee…anyone else want to come?" JJ asked the guys. They all declined, "Okay, we'll bring you some for the plane."

I kissed Derek and followed them through the glass doors and to the elevator. We had time to get the coffees and get to the plane with minutes to spare.

* * *

We had gone through everything else about the case on the plane and Hotch called me to sit across from him on the plane on the furthest seats from everyone else.

"Have I done something already?" I asked quietly as I sat down.

"No, I'm just going to insult you until you cry." He smirked at me.

I smiled and shook my head, laughing, "Look, if we were in any other place where the team wasn't sitting metres away, I wouldn't object. But I feel like you have a lot to hold against me and a lot you could make me cry over so I'm going to have to ask you not to do that."

He laughed too, "Damn. I had been thinking of things since the round table room."

"Are you trying to distract me?"

"I am." He nodded, "There's a lot that I can see that the rest of this team doesn't and I _know_ that you will not get through this case and I _know_ that you are deteriorating."

I raised my eyebrows, "I am not."

"The longer you keep it in, the faster it's going to destroy you."

"Okay, I should never have said anything to you."

"Hey Reid, statistics on traumatic events linking to illness?" Hotch asked him across the plane. Now the whole team knew what we were discussing. I scoffed and looked at Hotch with a deathly glare.

"75 per cent of Americans will be exposed to at least one traumatic event in their life but only about 25 per cent of these would develop PSTD. Women are twice as more likely to develop it than men. The chances of developing PSTD on its own are around 26 per cent, severe depression is 26 per cent and both is around 48 per cent. Having a history of mental illness, having a high level of stress in everyday life and having low coping skills all make the chance of developing depression after a traumatic event much more likely.  
"Nearly 4 out of 15 people are affected by both anxiety and any form of depression and—"

"Okay Reid." I cut him off, "Enough."

"Thank you Reid." Hotch nodded and looked back at me, raising his eyebrows.

"Are you trying to piss me off?" I asked him quietly. The rest of the team was completely silent and I knew they heard me anyway. "Because releasing all my anger on a plane may not be the best idea."

"I don't want it to happen while on the case."

"And it won't, Hotch. Believe it or not, I do have some self-control." I wasn't keeping my voice down now.

"I wasn't saying—"

"I would stop before she explodes." Derek cut Hotch off, "She is very close to yelling."

Hotch moved his eyes from Derek to me and he sighed, "I'll drop the subject."

I took a breath to calm myself, "Thank you."

"Hey Emily?" Reid asked. I looked at him over my shoulder and waited for him to continue. "Talking about it with people you know and trust makes it easier to cope with."

"Thanks Reid." I said in a tired voice and rolled my eyes. I looked back towards Hotch so the rest of the team couldn't see my face and I contemplated what I would get out of telling them anything. I would get sympathy and pity and those were the two things I hated the most.

My phone buzzed and I welcomed the distraction. I took it from my pocket and opened the message from Derek. It was dirty. I turned my head and smirked at him before shaking my head. He was already looking at me and laughed before drinking his coffee. "You disgust me." I said.

"I didn't this morning…"

"Oh, shut up!" The rest of the plane laughed; JJ and Garcia the most.

"Derek Morgan, whatever did that text say?" Rossi smirked at him. He just kept laughing.

"You do not want to know, Rossi." I shook my head and put my phone down in front of me, not texting him back. "We are currently on a case, Derek."

"I thought you don't listen to Strauss." JJ smirked at me.

"I listen to Hotch."

"You didn't a few minutes ago…" Hotch said.

"I listened." I defended.

"You argued."

"I have to listen to argue." I smirked at him.

He sighed, "You win this argument."

"It's because I was listening." We both laughed and I lifted my phone when it buzzed again. I opened Garcia's text.

" _When are you popping the question?"_

I turned around, "Garcia, what?"

Her eyes widened, "That was not meant for you. That was for De—David."

"Did you just call him David?"

"Did you just change Derek to David?" JJ asked.

"I was ignoring that part…" I said quietly. "Check the contact next time, Pen."

"Sorry." She gave me a guilty face. I looked back towards Hotch who was giving me a suspicious look. I showed him the text and he tried to fight him amused smile.

"Yeah, keep that smile off your face." I shook my head at him and gave my own smile.


	11. Vacation, Boxing and the Plane

**Prentiss**

The case took us 4 days, almost 5, and I didn't keep it together as easily as I may have liked. Most the team was oblivious; I was supposed to tell Hotch or Derek but when I even thought about telling them, I had an anxiety attack. JJ was there for the two that I had but she kept it quiet. She didn't want to cause another. I think she knew what it was about, though, and that worried me. She told Hotch right in front of me once the case was over, though.

I sat down at my desk back in Quantico and sighed, resting my elbow on the surface and my head in my hand. Hotch and Rossi went to their offices but they told us not to leave yet. JJ was at her desk beside me, Reid sat at his on a diagonal angle from me and I thought Derek had sat at his behind me. Garcia stood at my side and tapped on my desk. I put my hand over hers, "Please stop."

"Sorry." She linked her hands in front of her and tangled her fingers together and looked around. I felt Derek's hands touch my shoulders and he massaged my neck and shoulders.

He kissed my temple, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just extremely tired." I smiled at him when I looked at him over my shoulder.

"Round table room." Hotch said as he walked out of his office and towards the room. We all stood up and followed him in, Rossi in front of us.

We all sat down except Hotch and Rossi. They stood in front of us. Derek moved his chair and continued to massage me as he listened, "What's going on, guys?" He asked them. "Please don't tell me we have another case already."

"No, they're not holding files." JJ said.

"Shush." Garcia hushed quietly.

"Get your partners, children and your bags packed." Rossi said, "We are all going on a trip for a week."

"Uh…we actually work in a busy department…" JJ said, "And Henry has school and I can't afford it."

"Henry and Jack are taking the week off. I already called Will, Haley already knows, Kevin is invited, we already talked to Strauss and she sorted the week out for us here and Rossi's paying." Hotch smiled.

"You're paying for all of us? Isn't that expensive?" Reid asked.

"Yes, but that's okay because I'm rich." Rossi smiled at him, "Come on guys, we're going to lie in the sun at the beach and drink Piña coladas and relax for a while. We can all use it."

"I'm down. Where are we going?" Garcia asked, "And Kevin is not coming."

"The Bahamas." Rossi smiled. "Is everyone else in or do I need to continue to persuade you?"

"I'm in." Reid nodded.

"You said you already spoke to Will?" JJ asked.

"We did." Hotch nodded, "He's packing bags for you, we're leaving tomorrow night."

JJ nodded, "Okay."

They all looked at Derek and I. I looked to Derek who had moved to my side. "Up to you." He said.

I hesitated, "Sure, but I'm paying for Derek and I."

"No you're not. I am." Rossi said, "No argument, I know how much you love those when you don't get your way. Even our meals all week are on me. Literally everything."

I smiled and the rest of the team laughed. "I'm going to the get the most expensive god damn meals available." I smirked.

"I welcome it." Rossi challenged.

"Is this why we stayed back?" Garcia asked.

"Yes." Hotch nodded.

"Then can we go home because I need to pack." Garcia said, "Like, stat."

"Yes, go home and sleep and pack and everything. I've already booked all the rooms for the week and the flights and everything. Everyone will be picked up at 11 am, so be ready."

"I feel like royalty." I said as I stood up, "Being picked up, a fully paid vacation."

"I'm so excited. Okay. I'll see you all tomorrow. Thank you Rossi!" Garcia hugged him and then left quickly with her bag.

"I've never been to the Bahamas before." Reid said, "Thanks Rossi." He walked out after Garcia. JJ thanked him and left and now it was Hotch, Rossi, Derek and I.

"You're not sure you want to go." Rossi said to me. I looked at Hotch and he knew what was wrong.

"Prentiss, you'll be more relaxed there than you would be here. You already have the week off and we're all going to be there anyway. You may as well be a door away from your support than an overseas phone call."

"It's not that far…only 3 hours at the most."

"It's still pretty far." Rossi nodded.

"We don't have to go if you don't want; we can pay Rossi back if he can't get refunds." Derek said quietly. I heard the disappointment in his voice.

"No, you can go." I said to Derek, "I just don't know if _I_ want to."

"I'm wherever you are."

"Fine, we're going to the Bahamas tomorrow." I rolled my eyes, "Yay." I added sarcastically.

"You'll enjoy it once you get there. I got the best 5 star resort right on the beach. Make sure you bring your best swim suits." Rossi smiled.

"Thanks Rossi." I smiled and turned around, walking out. I heard Derek thank him and then follow me out.

"Hey princess, wait up." He said. I slowed my pace until he reached me. "What's up?"

"Nothing." I shook my head with a smile.

"You don't want to go the Bahamas…you've always wanted to go to the Bahamas. Why not now?"

I stopped walking at our desks and sighed, "Derek, I'm not as great as I've been letting on. I wasn't going to tell you, I was just going to keep it between Hotch, JJ and I but I think you should know. I think Hotch told Rossi, JJ found out and she probably told Reid. He would have told Garcia. You all know now."

"How did JJ find out?"

"I broke on the case." I shook my head as I thought back to it, "I was going to tell Hotch because he promised that he wouldn't take me off the case and wouldn't tell anyone if I went to him, but when I even considered telling him or you, I had an anxiety attack. Twice."

Derek nodded and sighed, "We don't have to go if you don't want to, but I think it could distract you."

I nodded, "Hotch told me to let out the anger and sadness before our next case, but I can't do that if we're in the Bahamas. I was planning on going to the gym tonight to get the anger out and I just hoped I would release the sadness as I did it."

"Do you want me to come to the gym with you?" He asked softly, taking my hand and kissing across my knuckles that would soon be damaged. I nodded and grabbed my bag. He got his and linked his hand with mine as we walked out.

* * *

I let out a lot of anger on the punching bag last night and cried all night in Derek's arms. Neither of us got much sleep because once my tears started, they just would not stop no matter how hard I tried to get them to. I felt so weak and stupid but not once did Derek show my anything but patience, support and love. I was exhausted when we got picked up at 11 and as soon as we saw the team, JJ brought up how tired I looked.

"Whoa, Emily, did you sleep at all last night" Haley asked as she walked over to Jack and Henry.

"Not much." I shook my head. This was the third time I had been asked.

"Hey Emily!" Henry said excitedly. I lifted him up as he ran to me and hugged him. He was always a very quiet kid until he saw me. JJ said he loved me more than he loved his grandmother.

"Hey buddy. Are you excited to go to the beach?"

"Yeah! Are you?"

"Yeah I am." I was being very overly enthusiastic. I was too tired to feel anything but sleepy.

"Will you swim with me when we get there?"

I hesitated. I wasn't planning on swimming at all or even wearing a bathing suit. I was too self-conscious of my body for that. "Sure, as soon as we settle in and your mum and dad let you. They're in charge, remember." He sometimes forgot that I wasn't to make decisions for him.

He nodded and ran to Reid and Garcia. JJ smiled at me, "Thanks. He was so scared on the way here, he's never flown before. I think you just fixed it all."

I smiled and looked at Hotch. He was watching me with curious eyes the whole time since I got here. "What?" I asked him.

He shook his head, "Nothing."

"Hi Emily." Jack smiled.

"Hey Jack." I returned his smile, "Are you as excited as Henry?"

"Yeah." He nodded and his smile grew. I nodded and looked at Rossi as he cleared his throat.

"What's with the bandaged knuckles?" He was looking at both my hands, "And the bandaged wrist…"

"I was at the gym last night. I sprained my wrist but it's only minor. I didn't, however, jar my finger again."

"Oh, go you." JJ laughed. "A punching bag, I'm guessing. Morgan looks tired but not beaten up."

I laughed, "He offered to be my opponent but I declined."

"Thank you for declining because that would have been painful. Oh, I got that old lady to feed Sergio and Clooney again."

I nodded. She was so sweet; I had no problem with letting her into my home.

Eventually, our flight was called for boarding and we were off to the Bahamas. I was seated in between Derek and Rossi and Garcia and Reid were happy to sit together, talking about whatever they were both fans of at the moment. Something nerdy that I would probably join in on later.

"We should have just taken the jet." I said to Rossi.

"I tried, they wouldn't let me."

I smiled and looked behind me at JJ. She smiled and leaned forwards, "This flight is about 2 and a half hours. Maybe you two should get some sleep."

"I don't sleep on community planes." I said. We were in first class but there were still other people. Strangers. "I don't normally fly on community planes at all."

"Why not?"

"When I was 13, someone held up a plane I was on with my mother. I made her get private jets after that."

"We should have taken the jet."

"I said that too. Rossi tried but they didn't let him."

"Of course." She rolled her eyes and smiled. Will tapped her arm to get her attention and she sat back, looking at him. I glanced at Rossi who was already reading a book. I looked at Derek and he planted a soft kiss on my lips.

"I love you."

I smiled, "I love you too."

"I'm probably not going to fall asleep, so you can if you want. No one is going to hold the plane at gunpoint, I promise." He smiled at me. I returned it and linked my hand in his, resting our hands on his knee and leaning my head on his shoulder. I closed my eyes and fell asleep almost immediately.


	12. Lingerie

**Prentiss**

We arrived at the Bahamas around 3:30 pm and made our way off the plane and collected out luggage. We had cars waiting out the front of the airport and we got to the very predictably 5 star hotel within 45 minutes.

Rossi and Hotch sorted the rooms out for us because none of us cared. We had 3 booked, which was sort of 6. They were adjoining rooms and we booked 3 of them that formed 6. One had 2 bedrooms in each room, making 4. That was for Hotch, Haley and Jack in one and JJ, Will and Henry in the other. They went together because Haley and JJ got along really well and they decided that it would be better for Henry and Jack to be closer together. Also, they were the only ones with 2 bedrooms.

Derek and I had a room connected to Garcia and Reid and Rossi's rooms linked. They were all beside each other and the room that Derek and I had contained the biggest table and the most space around it so we were in the room that everyone came to in the mornings and nights. It was already planned.

They all came tonight after they settled into their rooms and showered and got changed.

"Emily, I brought you something." Garcia said to me quietly. We were sort of seated so the women were more to one side and the men on the other side of the table. "And you two as well." She said to JJ and Haley.

"What is it?" JJ asked with a questioning look.

"My room. Now." Garcia nodded and stood up. Haley and JJ followed her through and I stood up.

"We'll be right back, Garcia's being shady." I said to the guys as I walked to the door that joined our rooms. I closed it behind me and sat on Garcia's bed with the other two.

She picked up 3 bags and looked in them to make sure she was giving us the right ones.

"Oh…thanks Garcia." JJ smirked at her. I didn't open mine.

"Oh god…Aaron would kill me if you guys found out I wore this in front of him. Thank you Penelope." Haley smiled and pulled out the lingerie 2 piece.

"Open it." Garcia said to me.

"Please tell me you did not buy me lingerie, Garcia."

"Just look." She rolled her eyes, "Come on. That was expensive and Derek will love it."

I sighed and pulled the piece of cloth from the bag. It didn't look like it would cover anything at all, "Garcia, this legitimately will not cover a thing."

"Yah…that's the point." She nodded with a grin.

I looked at the black and purple piece. I did like it, but I didn't think Derek would, "Thanks Pen."

"No problem. I want to hear all about the reactions…for the first few seconds…I don't want to hear what happens once it started being removed."

We all laughed and I put it back in the bag. JJ and Haley did too and Garcia walked back into my room first. I threw the bag onto the bed and sat back down.

"What was that about?" Derek asked me from across the table.

"Nothing that concerns you." I smirked at him.

"Yet." Haley, JJ and Garcia all added at the same time.

"It's something sexy, isn't it?" He asked, smirking at me.

I made my face drop, "Derek, are you trying to tell me that I'm not sexy enough for you? That I need lingerie to look good to you? Do you think—"

"No! No, that is not what I'm saying at all." He cut me off and shook his head. He genuinely looked scared of my reaction to this.

I could fight the smile anymore and it broke through. I laughed with the girls, "I'm joking, but the fear in your eyes, Derek; that is something I will always enjoy seeing."

"You enjoy the fact that I am genuinely afraid of you?"

"I enjoy it greatly." I nodded, trying to stop my laugh.

He shook his head, "You're mean."

"But no, Derek, it is not lingerie." I lied.

"Then what is it?"

"Nothing that concerns you!" I repeated.

"Yet!" The 3 girls added again while laughing.

"Stop!" I looked at them and heard a chair move. Derek walked towards the bed quickly and I jumped up, running to the bag and grabbing it before he did. I sat on the bed and held it behind my back. He tried to grab it and I lay down with it underneath me, "No."

"Emily…"

"No." I rolled out from underneath him as he started to move above me playfully. I stood quickly and ran to Garcia's room, opening the door that connected to ours and throwing the bag in. I closed it and turned back around to look at Derek, "You're not allowed in there."

"I'm going to send you home soon."

"Good, do it." I smirked.

"…No." He sat back down and drank some of his beer. I sat back in between JJ and Garcia and smiled at my boyfriend across from me.

"I win." I whispered. I laughed as he flipped me off and I continued on my wine.

* * *

I had a shower when everyone else had gone back to their rooms and put the lingerie on. I stared at myself in silence for several minutes with my mouth hanging open in shock at just how bad my body looked. I wrapped a towel around me tightly and carefully to cover any straps or hints to Derek and walked through our room towards the connecting door. I knocked and Garcia opened it after a second. I walked in and shook my head, "No, Penelope no."

"Did you try it on?" She smiled.

"I have it on and no."

"Show me."

"Garcia."

"Don't worry; I'm not sexually attracted to you." She laughed.

I smiled and shook my head before dropping my towel. She smiled wider, "You look amazing. If I were a lesbian—"

"Oh my god." I cut her off with a laugh.

"Seriously Emily, get your hot arse back in there and seduce your man. I wear headphones with music to bed so I won't hear anything."

I hesitated as I wrapped my towel back around me, "I am terrified of his reaction to this. What if he hates it or me?"

"Oh my god Emily. You really have no idea just how much he adores you, do you?" I didn't reply to her so she stood up, "I am going to open this door and you're going to walk back to your bathroom, hang your towel and stand in a sexy stance against the doorway and watch his reaction when he sees you. I want to know, by the way."

I took a deep breath and nodded. She opened the door and smiled as I walked through. "Good luck." She whispered before she closed it behind me.

I went to the bathroom, ignoring Derek's questioning eyes from the bed and closed the door. I hung the towel and looked at myself in the mirror again before searching through my makeup bag quickly. I covered the scar on my stomach and zipped the bag back up. There was a light switch to the main room just beside this door, so I opened it ajar, still hidden, and turned the light out. The TV glow and the glow from the light in the attached kitchen were still shining. I turned the bright bathroom light out and left the dim one on and opened the door fully, standing in the doorway and biting my lip. Derek looked at me as soon as he noticed the door open and his eyes widened when he saw me, "Holy shit." He breathed.

I smiled to myself and looked down, "Do you like it?

"Did you really just question that?" He asked, still sounding shocked, "This isn't normally a thing you'd do."

"But you would." I smirked and looked at him, taking a few steps towards the bed.

He bit his lip as he smirked and watched me move over to him slowly. I reached the side of the bed where he was seated and stood in front of him, licking my lip seductively. I bowed my head slightly as he lifted his and looked at me. "You busy?"

"I'm about to be." He said quickly as he grabbed my arm and threw me onto the bed, climbing over me. I laughed as he kissed over my face before slowing down and looking down my body, "My god, you're like a goddess."

"Let me know what you want. Your wish is my command tonight." I said.

"I want you to let me please you. I'll be on my A game, I promise." He winked and kissed me passionately before I could reply.

* * *

I was sitting with Haley, JJ and Garcia at the table. Henry and Jack were there too but they were distracted by their conversation. Will, Hotch and Derek were in the kitchen at the moment, Reid and Rossi weren't in our room yet.

"So? How'd it all go?" Garcia asked quietly.

"His exact words when he saw me were 'sweet mother of god'." JJ smirked, "I think it's safe to say he thoroughly enjoyed it."

"Perfect. Haley?"

She glanced over at Hotch, "Well…there wasn't much talking. He just looked at me with shock for a few seconds before we got into it."

Garcia grinned, "Who knew? Emily, please tell me you didn't freak out again and bailed."

" _Again_?" JJ asked.

"Yeah…I put it on last night and freaked out. I went to Garcia's room and said I couldn't do it but she was very supportive." I nodded.

"So you did go through with it?" Garcia nodded with an even wider grin, "What did he say?"

"Uh…he said 'holy shit' and had a lot of trouble keeping his eyes on mine rather than on my body…"

"So last night was a huge success. I am glad and proud." Garcia nodded and we all laughed.

Rossi and Reid walked in and all the guys came and sat down now. "How did everyone sleep?" Rossi asked.

They all answered anything from great to perfectly, leaving Derek and I as the only two adults who hadn't replied. "It was…fine." I nodded.

" _Fine?_ Emily, it better have been more than _fine_." He said.

Derek cleared his throat and a small, wicked smirk was on his lips, "We didn't sleep much."

"Oh…well that is not something I needed to know." Rossi shook his head with a laugh. The rest of us laughed too and Jack and Henry looked up.

"Emily, will you swim with me today?" Henry asked me.

I nodded, "Sure." He smiled and returned to the paper he was drawing on in front of him.

"Cool, good conversation. I love it, short and to the point."

We all had breakfast here, ordering from the room service and we soon all got changed into our swim suits in our rooms and went out to the beach right in front of our rooms.

 **Yes, I should have chosen a place I knew about, but I've never travelled more than 4 hours, and in Australia, that doesn't get us far. I don't know why I chose the Bahamas but I know nothing about this place so I'm just going to make it up. To hell with it, it's fanFICTION for a reason.**


	13. Day 1

**Prentiss**

The whole team and their partners and children were all in the water at the same time at one point. All but me. I definitely was not confident enough to be in front of them or the limited number of others here that were a fair way away, giving us our space and enjoying their own. It was a family of four, two adults, a teenager and a child around 9 or 10. Henry had forgotten about my word on swimming with him for the moment but I doubted it would stay that way.

Garcia was to my left and Reid at my right at the moment. We were basking in the sunlight on those cool reclining lounge chairs that always near the beach. They were both in their swim suits and I was wearing shorts and a loose shirt over my bikini. The three of us laughed as we saw Derek throw Hotch into the water at Jack's request. JJ and Will were throwing Henry between them in the water as he laughed uncontrollably. Haley and Rossi were laughing at Hotch right now.

"Hey Emily, what do you think about marriage?" Garcia asked quietly.

I looked at her, "What do you mean? My opinion on marriage or if I want to get married one day or if I want to marry you?" The three of us laughed at my last suggestion.

"Do you want to marry Derek?" She asked more specifically.

"Uh…he's brought it up before and I said that I wasn't ready but I don't know; I think I'd probably accept if he asked again. Do not tell him this or he will feel forced into asking me."

"That's adorable. I don't think I ever realised the extent of the love you held for each other. My heart is hurting from this cuteness overload." She smiled at me and sat up excitedly.

I smiled, "Okay, drop the subject."

"The water is really nice, by the way." Reid said to me, changing the subject.

I glanced at him and nodded, "Looks it."

"So why haven't you gone in?" Garcia asked me. I felt an interrogation coming on.

"I…can't swim?"

"You're scared to show that striking hot body of yours." Garcia called me out. "If anyone was self-conscious, it should be me and I'm not so come on." She stood up and tried to pull me with her. I shook my head so Reid stood too and they grabbed an arm each, pulling me up.

"Take your shorts and shirt off." Garcia said sternly, smiling. I sighed and slid them off.

"I'm not going in the water; I am doing this strictly to show you that I am not nervous of my body in front of everyone." I felt my anxiety grow as I went to sit back down with just the bikini and bottoms, but Reid lifted me up quickly and ran to the water.

"NO!" I screamed and struggled to get out of his arms. He dove into the water and I went under too. How could Reid even hold me up and run with my weight on him? I resurfaced and wiped the water from my eyes. Everyone was laughing and Reid had a proud smile on his face.

I glared and pounced at him, tackling him backwards into the water. He resurfaced and laughed with the others. I groaned and wringed my hair out. I could touch the ground here so I walked back to shore and onto the sand before Derek caught up to me. He pulled me backwards into the water and my hair got wet again.

"Why are you doing this!?" I stressed.

"Have some fun for once. Forget about your hair." He smiled and spun me around in the water. He kissed me a few times and I pushed him away and Henry paddled up to us, having slight trouble staying afloat. I glanced at JJ and Will. Will was watching him intently but he was ready to move if Henry had trouble. JJ had her hands on her cheeks with a very anxious face. I lifted him up slightly so he didn't need to try and tread water and JJ visibly relaxed.

"That was terrifying." She said with a relieved smile.

I played with Henry and swam with my team for a while before I eventually was allowed out of the water. I claimed that I needed to apply sunscreen, and I did, but I just wanted to get out of the water and put my shorts and shirt back on.

I went through Garcia's door and into my room and closed the door that connected them behind me. I dried my hair quickly and put sunscreen on before going back out and putting my shirt and shorts on.

"No, Em, come on." Derek called out to me. "Don't be like that."

"I don't like the beach." I called back to him. He rolled his eyes and moved to the shore. He ran up the sand to me and crouched at my side.

"You love the beach, so why aren't you swimming in it?"

I hesitated and didn't reply.

He nodded, "Garcia was right, you're too self-conscious about your body, aren't you?"

"…Maybe a little bit."

He rolled his eyes and kissed me, "We were thinking of going out to eat soon anyway."

"That sounds great."

* * *

Lunch with everyone was fun. I had a low costing meal, not wanted to rob Rossi of what I didn't need to. I almost got away with paying for both mine and Derek's meals but he caught me before I was successful. Garcia questioned what exactly we were going to be doing for a week and Rossi revealed that he booked a lot of things. He had pre-paid passes to waterparks, he booked a large boat ride for us all that was an all-day thing, visiting small islands that weren't big enough to have anything interesting on them so they were just forest, perfect for adventures and looking at wildlife. He had snorkelling, dolphin watching and swimming with the dolphins, which I'm almost certain as just going to be us sitting on a boat and looking out over the ocean and Jack and Henry swimming with them. He knew the places to go where we would find and explore caves, we were going shopping all day He then had another day with nothing planned at the end where we would completely relax again before getting on a plane and going back to bleak Virginia.

"That sounds like fun, hey Jack?" Haley asked him after Rossi finished laying out his plan for everyone.

Jack nodded and Henry whispered something to JJ who was at my side. She laughed and nodded before standing up and swapping seats with him. He was originally between JJ and Will and he was now between JJ and I. "What are you most excited for?" I asked him.

"The waterparks and dolphins. What about you?"

"I think it all sounds pretty great." I smiled at him. He nodded and turned his attention back to the colouring book in front of him.

"What are you actually looking forward to the most?" Reid asked curiously.

"Whatever doesn't require me to wear a swim suit…"

Derek groaned and dropped his head back, "Can someone please tell her that her body is great and she doesn't need to be self-conscious about it around all of you?"

"Can you shut up?" I glared at him.

"You have a great figure, Emily." Reid said.

"This is going to get awkward and I think we should change the subject."

"How was everyone meal?" Rossi asked.

I smiled at him and mouthed "Thank you" as Garcia expressed how she would marry that meal if it were legal. She then proceeded to ask if she would be arrested if she married food and then ate it. I sat back and laughed as Hotch gave her an amusing answer and glanced at Derek. He leant over slightly and kissed my cheek.

Reid and JJ started discussing how the only time they weren't happy with this trip so far was when they were in their rooms and had nothing to do. It had only been one night but they knew it was too boring to just sit around and do nothing all night. I didn't know what JJ was talking about; she was with Will last night.

"Why don't you all go out tonight?" I suggested, "I'll stay at the hotel and watch Jack and Henry."

"No, you can go. I'll stay at the hotel. We all know I don't party much." JJ smiled.

"Exactly, you don't party much. Seriously Jayje, I have no motivation to dance and get drunk. Just do me a favour and keep an eye on Derek. Make sure he's not picking anyone up in his drunk state."

Derek scoffed, "I would never."

"You have with other girls." I raised my eyebrows.

"They weren't real relationships; they were just to pass the time." He smirked.

I rolled my eyes and looked at Henry and Jack, "Don't ever do that."

"Why not?" Jack asked curiously. Hotch and Haley hesitated and looked at each other before looking to me for an answer.

"Because it messes with girls' brains and makes them dislike themselves."

"They shouldn't dislike themselves. All girls are pretty and nice." He said.

I smiled and looked back at Derek, "He's 8 and he knows better than you…"

"Shut up." He rolled his eyes at me.


	14. Day 2

**Prentiss**

I had a movie night last night with Jack and Henry. It was actually fun. I made popcorn and bought lollies and chocolate and whatever else they wanted. The sofa in my room folded out to be a bed so they stayed there. I woke up early to find Derek in bed, his arm around me waist. The boys were fast asleep. I smiled and slipped out from underneath Derek's arm and peeked around the open door into Garcia's room. She was asleep and she very visibly had been drinking a lot. I smiled and walked back through the room to the bathroom. I had a quick shower and brushed my hair out. I got changed and decided to sit down and read for a while. I sat at the dining table and turned the overhead light on.

An hour and a bit later, it was 7 and the boys woke up. Jack got up and went into the bathroom, Henry walked over to me, "Is my mummy in her room?" He asked in his familiar quiet voice.

I nodded, "Yeah, she is."

"Is she asleep? Because I miss her."

I smiled and put my book down, "I'll text her and see, okay?"

He nodded and sat down beside me. I got a piece of paper and a pencil and gave them to him. He thanked me and started drawing silently like he always did. Jack walked back out and lay back down, throwing the blankets over his head. I smiled to myself and texted JJ, _"You up?"_

She replied a minute later with, _"I don't even think I slept. I'm coming over."_

I shook my head and put my phone down. I walked to the door and unlocked it. After a few minutes, she walked in with Will, Hotch and Haley. Henry jumped up and ran to JJ.

"He's still asleep?" Haley asked when I held my finger to my lips and she saw Derek.

"When did you get back?" I asked as I sat back down and they joined me.

"3 at the latest." Will said.

"…I was awake at 3. I fell asleep around 4 and he wasn't back when I was awake…"

"Uh oh." JJ said quietly.

"Hey Henry, go jump on Morgan and wake him up." I encouraged. He smirked and jumped down from JJ's lap and ran to the bed.

"Wake up!" Henry said loudly as he jumped on him. Derek groaned and rolled over away from him. Haley stood and went to the kitchen, starting to make coffee for everyone.

"Rossi and Reid are coming." Hotch said quietly. Derek sat up when Henry yelled at him again.

"Where were you?" I asked before Derek could speak.

"Last night? I was out with everyone else…you told me to."

"No, afterwards. They all got back around 3 at the latest. You weren't back any time before 4."

He looked away in thought before he remembered, "Garcia and I went to the casino." I stared at him in silence for several seconds. "What?"

"Nothing." I shook my head and thanked Haley when she put a coffee mug in front of me.

He rolled his eyes and stood up. He walked over to me and kissed my cheek, "Don't worry, I wouldn't dream of cheating on you, but I'm offended that you think I would."

I gave him an obvious look, "Derek, I used to the be the person who you would go to every morning with the news of what chick you slept with the previous night. It drove me insane."

"Aww, well you should have said something sooner." He winked and walked away and to the bathroom. I rolled my eyes and shook my head. I sipped the hot coffee and savoured the taste.

Jack got up and walked to the table, sitting beside Hotch, "Did you have fun last night, dad?"

"I did, buddy. Did you?"

He nodded, "We watched movies and ate a lot of popcorn. Emily's really funny."

"But there was something she said that we weren't never to repeat." Henry said.

"Shh." I hushed him quietly. I bit my lip as JJ raised her eyebrows at me, "It kind of just slipped out…"

She smiled, "Yeah, Will and I do that sometimes."

Reid and Rossi walked in as the water turned off in the bathroom. "Hey." They said at the same time. The door to Garcia's room was still open. She appeared in the doorway and we all looked at her.

"Must you be so loud?"

Derek walked out and smirked at her, "You look like hell."

She glared at him and closed the door and disappeared back into her room. We all laughed after a moments silence.

"Sorry Garcia!" Reid called loudly, hoping to stir her up with the loud volume.

"I hate you!" She called back, followed by a quiet "Ow."

I ordered the room service for what everyone wanted and Rossi explained what we were going today. We were visiting several waterparks and that meant I had to wear a swim suit. I was not really forward to the day.

* * *

We were on the third and last waterpark now. We walked in and Haley, JJ, Garcia and I found two tables scattered around the grass and pulled them together.

Jack and Henry were not going to wait to go on the rides. They pulled Will and Hotch with them and I sat down, pulling my sarong against my skin to cover what I could. JJ sat down and moved her hair in front of shoulder and adjusted her sunglasses. Garcia sat and closed her eyes, she was the most hungover. Haley smiled as she watched Hotch run off with Jack.

"I don't think I've ever seen Hotch like this." Reid said as he sat down on my right.

"Neither." I smiled as I watched the four of them disappear through the people and large rides.

"He is very rarely like this. He's either working or too tired to play with Jack." Haley said casually, not meaning to offend anyone. I nodded in understanding and looked at Derek and Rossi as they walked over.

"We have drinks coming." Rossi said as he sat down and let out a relaxed sigh, "Just so you know, today was more to entertain Henry and Jack. I didn't expect any of you to actually participate in the rides."

Derek smiled, "I don't know, I've been having fun and I don't have a child to follow around." This reminded me of my miscarriage and I felt my mood drop. I knew he didn't mean it, but I couldn't help but feel like he might hold me responsible for not having a child. He looked at me with realisation in his eyes, "I didn't mean it like that. I'm so sorry…"

I smiled and shook my head, "It's fine."

He sat forwards and put his hands over his face, "I've lost count of how many times I have accidently upset you with a comment like that."

I rolled my eyes, "Get over yourself."

"Can you honestly tell me that I didn't just remind you of what you have successfully been forgetting and upset you?"

I looked into his eyes and sighed, looking at the table. I didn't lie to him seriously, only when we were joking or if it was necessary.

"It's not something she will ever forget, Morgan. It stays with a mother forever." JJ said quietly.

"But I'm not a mother, so I'm fine." I stood up as Henry appeared back into view and called me over. I walked away from them and to him quickly, crouching so I would be able to hear him. He wanted me to go on a ride with him and Will looked relieved when I gave in.

"Thank you." He whispered to me with a smile. I nodded and gave my sarong to him. He took it and walked to the table where they all sat and I knew they were watching.

He dragged me to where Hotch stood talking to Jack. "Ah, he was successful. I didn't think you'd come."

I laughed, "I think Will will enjoy the break. Plus, the conversation was going south so I was doing anything to get out of there."

He gave me a questioning look and I brushed it off, "Derek just made a comment about not having a child and he thought he offended me. It was nothing."

" _Did_ he offend you?"

"No." I shook my head, "I mean, sure, it reminded me of what I was desperately trying to keep out of my head while we were here and my mood dropped but he didn't mean anything by it and I'm not going to dwell on a harmless comment."

Hotch went to speak before Jack and Henry grabbed out hands and dragged us off to where they had agreed to go next.

Eventually, the boys decided they wanted a break to have something to eat and drink. Hotch and I walked a step behind them, joking about something irrelevant when we were approached by an old couple, "Oh, your boys are adorable." The old lady smiled sweetly.

I kept my laugh back and looked at Hotch. He didn't know how to tell her that we weren't together and that only one was his and that neither were mine. He looked at me to reply, "Thank you." I smiled at her, "We're very proud."

She nodded with a pleased smile and walked away. We continued to the table where the boys were just sitting down. Hotch laughed at me as we made our way there.

"Did that old couple just talk to you? They're so cute, I've seen them walk passed a few times." Garcia said as we sat down.

"Yeah…they complimented "our" boys and Emily replied with "thank you. We're very proud". He laughed. The others did too.

"Well did you see how happy she looked? I didn't want to break her heart and tell her that you were my boss and we weren't together and that only one boy was yours and neither were mine." I laughed with everyone else.

"I support your answer. I wouldn't have wanted to break her heart either." Haley said.

"She might have quite literally had a heart attack…" Reid said quietly.

"Reid!" I laughed again.

"You look like you had fun." JJ smirked at me. "Did you, Emily Prentiss, actually enjoy something at a waterpark in nothing but your bathing suit?"

I groaned, "Don't remind me."

The boys ate quickly and Hotch slowed them down by telling them that they had to wait 20 minutes before swimming again.

"Thank you." JJ smiled at him and they both laughed. "I just want to relax and not have to go on rides."

"But mummy, their fun." Henry pouted.

"They'll be fun in 20 minutes…" She said as she lifted her guava and lime mocktail. She drank it and avoided her sons unamused eyes. I tried to keep my laugh back but I wasn't completely successful.

"Will you come back on the rides with me, Emily?" Henry asked me.

"You know, I think it's Reid and Garcia's turn, don't you?"

"Yeah!" He said excitedly and looked at them.

Reid hesitated before glaring at me and assuring Henry that he would go with him.

"Let's go now!" Henry jumped up.

"Don't worry dad, you don't have to come." Jack said as he stood up.

"Thanks, buddy." Hotch smiled at him appreciatively and sipped his drink.

"I quite literally hate you." Garcia said to me as Henry and Jack pulled her up. Henry dragged her away and she looked back quickly, "I am going to murder you in your sleep tonight."

I laughed, "Have fun!"

"Cruel." Derek smirked, "But smart." I smiled at him and he planted a quick kiss on my lips.


	15. Day 3

**Prentiss**

We went out to dinner and I ate a very non-expensive meal again. Rossi questioned my eating choices and I told him the truth straight out: that I didn't want spend his money where I didn't need to. He told me not to be ridiculous but I ignored the comment and decided against dessert. I was extremely tired tonight but I wasn't going to deny Derek of a fun night. He invited everyone to our room for drinks and poker or whatever they wanted do to. Play games, talk, whatever. Jack and Henry were asleep in Garcia's room so we could keep an eye on them. We played poker for a while and that turned into strip poker after more drinks. Now we were just talking amongst ourselves. I had gotten to slipping my shirt back on after the poker game where I was left without my stockings underneath my skirt and with only a bra on my top half. I did alright, but Rossi won. I had expected Reid to but I guess there are just some things you can't rely on math to help you with.

"Let's go back to high school and play truth or dare." Garcia said as Rossi poured her another drink.

"Oh, I always used to play that with Ros when we were younger." JJ said, smiling at the memories.

"Okay, I'll go first. Morgan, truth or dare?" Garcia asked.

"Uh…truth."

"When was the first time you realised that you loved Em?"

He thought back to it, "Well…I didn't like her for the first week but after our first case, I think I let myself get to know her and I'm pretty sure that's when I fell in love."

JJ, Haley and Garcia all said "aww" at the same time and snickered and looked at him, "Lame."

"They thought it was adorable."

"They're hopeless romantics."

"We are not."" JJ scoffed. I tried not to laugh at her obviously offended tone. She smirked and laughed with me briefly before Derek cleared his throat and shook his head with a small smile.

"Hotch, truth or dare?"

"I'm not playing." He shook his head.

"Yes you are." Garcia, JJ and Haley all said at the same time.

He sighed and looked at me, "You are currently my favourite female in the room right now."

"Oh, she won't be later." Haley smirked and winked at him. He raised his eyebrows at her as we all laughed.

"If I still am later, we have a very big problem." I said. Laughter again before Hotch chose truth. I think we'd all be too afraid to choose dare.

"If you had to choose one person in this room to kill, who would it be?"

"So morbid." Rossi said quietly, shaking his head.

"Myself." Hotch answered immediately, not needing to think it over at all.

"No, that's not a valid answer." Derek declined.

"I wouldn't kill any of you, Morgan." Hotch rolled his eyes.

"You're so boring."

"Who would you choose, then?"

He thought about it before looking down, "Myself…"

Hotch laughed, "Exactly."

The questions got more inappropriate as the night went on. The dares were even worse. Eventually we all decided that we didn't want a hangover as bad as Garcia's was today so they all retired to their respective rooms, Will and Hotch picking up their sleeping sons to take with them and Derek and I stopped drinking, but we didn't exactly go to sleep…

* * *

Today was the all-day event on the boat where we went to small islands around the main ones and searched around them and see the wildlife. We were expecting to see interesting and colourful birds the most, but we were told there could be wild boars or different kinds of large reptiles like lizards or snakes, etc.

I had a very passive aggressive long-winded argument with Derek this morning when I told him why I didn't want to wear my bathing suit at all this week. He wouldn't lose so I eventually gave in and put the bikini and bottoms on that JJ had brought me yesterday when she and Haley went to a store in between the waterparks. This was partly because Henry had ripped his swimming shorts and JJ decided it would be better to buy him a new pair and partly because she and Haley did not want to go on rides with their sons again. Sure, it was fun on the adult rides, but they had to go on the less entertaining ones with the boys. I slipped a flowy sun dress over them and knocked on Garcia's door.

"Yes." She said in a relieved tone. I opened the door and she smiled at me, "Thank you for knocking at a convenient time. Can you please tie this up?"

I laughed and walked to her, tying the strings up behind her back. She sighed in relief. "Thank you. I was almost ready to not wear it."

I laughed again, "Are you ready?"

"I will be in one second." She said as she walked to her bed and slipped a dress over her. She grabbed her casual colourful bag and dropped her phone in it, "I am now."

"We're meeting everyone for breakfast like 10 minutes ago, so let's go."

We walked into my room where Derek was laying with his swimming trunks that were always accepted as causal everyday fashion by society and a dark blue tank top.

"That dark colour is going to attract the sun…" Garcia said as I grabbed my bag and walked out of the room behind Garcia and before Derek.

"I can't change the colour of my skin, Garcia." He joked. The three of us laughed.

"Michael Jackson did." She shot back. We laughed again and walked towards the café where we were supposed to already be. Derek linked his hand in mine and kissed my hair as we went.

"You're late!" Jack said as we walked in.

"I know, I'm sorry. Derek just couldn't decide—"

"Hey, hey, hey." He cut me off. "I was ready a half hour ago; it was you and Garcia who took forever."

Garcia smirked, "Damn, we almost had him." I smiled at her and we sat down.

"Finally…I'm hungry." JJ said with an impatient tone.

"She was yellin' at me all mornin'." Will said, rolling his eyes.

"Mummy is PMSing." Henry said quietly. We all stared at him for a few seconds, shocked as to how he knew what that was. He was so young.

"Please tell me you did not teach him that." JJ said to Will.

He shook his head, "No, I'm too scared of you to do that."

"Henry, where did you learn that?"

"I heard Reid say it to Rossi before." He said casually. My laugh broke through and I tried to stop it but I wasn't completely successful. JJ stared at Reid before moving her eyes to Rossi.

"Sorry…" Reid said quietly, looking down to hide his smirk, "But he should know."

"Not at 6 years old he shouldn't." I laughed.

"Spence, don't talk shi—stupidly about me to Rossi or anyone again."

"It wasn't stupid, I was just warning him."

"He doesn't need a warning about anything, Spencer."

"Yes he does." Derek nodded, "We always do. Seriously, Emily threatened to shoot me the last time because I had my arm around her. She woke me up and threatened my life if I didn't move away from her."

I smirked and looked down, "Wouldn't be the first time…"

"It drives me insane."

"It drives _you_ insane, Derek? _You?_ " Garcia raised her eyebrows.

"Well, keep your hormones in check." He shrugged his shoulders. I turned my head to look at him slowly and raised my eyebrows.

"Excuse me, what was that?" I asked. His eyes widened and he looked down, shaking his head.

"Nothing, nothing at all."

"Hmm, didn't think so. Next time, you can buy me lots of chocolate and ice cream just because of that comment."

"After your opinion on our argument this morning, do you really want them?"

I dropped my mouth open in shock, "Wow. Thanks for the confidence boost."

" _Your_ opinion, not mine."

"You're on a roll today." I sat back with a hard face.

"Oh come on, that did not offend you."

"It did. You basically just told me that I shouldn't eat chocolate and ice cream because I'm overweight."

"I did not!"

"Don't talk to me until after breakfast. Or did you not want me to eat that either?"

He made a small frustrated noise and shook his head, "Kill me."

"You messed up." Garcia sang quietly.

I looked at JJ and she shook her head, "Men."

"Arrogant." Haley said quietly.

"Ignorant." Garcia added.

* * *

I still wouldn't talk to Derek as we boarded the large boat that seated 12 including the captain, perfect for our group. I wasn't angry with him anymore and everyone except for him knew it. I was just doing this for fun now. Jack and Henry were busy looking over the water, practically bouncing with excitement and we all sat on the seats, looking on the water and talking.

"Hey princess?" Derek asked me quietly. I avoided his eyes and ignored him, a smirk on my face that he couldn't see. He sighed and stood up, slipping his shirt off.

"Oh, hello." Garcia joked.

"What are you doing?" JJ asked him.

"I'm jumping off and either drowning or being eaten by a shark, whichever comes first."

"Why?" Rossi asked.

"Because I messed up." He motioned to me and I picked his shirt up and threw it at him.

"Put it back on. I was just playing."

He raised his eyebrows, "For that long? Jesus Christ, Emily. Do you have any idea how hard I was thinking to find something to make it up to you?"

I laughed and shook my head. The rest of the boat laughed too and he looked at them. "Did you all know this whole time?"

"Yes." Hotch said with an amused smile.

"Cruel. I hate you all." He said as he slipped his shirt back on.

"Hey, I wanted to tell you but it was majority rules." Haley said. He looked back at me and shook his head before moving seats and sitting beside Haley where Jack previously was. I tilted my head to the side and smirked at him.

"I'm not coming back until I hear an apology."

"Suit yourself." I said casually and looked down at the book I was holding.

"I hate you." He said, his eyes narrowing on me.

I looked up again and smirked, "You didn't say that last night."

"Ohhh…." JJ and Garcia both said at the same time. The whole boat laughed, including the captain and I continued to smirk at Derek.

"You win this round and I am going to high-five you for that later."

"Oh hun, I win every round."

"I hate to break the banter, but we are approaching the first island." The captain announced.


	16. Day 3 Part 2

**Prentiss**

I got off the boat with the assistance of Will and Hotch. "Thanks." I smiled at them. I walked passed Derek and high-fived him for my comment on the boat as he held his hand up and I went to Garcia's side. We offered for the captain of our boat come explore with us but he declined and said usually he'll go for a swim to cool off, listen to his music and read a book.

We all looked at Rossi, "So where are we going?" I asked him.

"I have no idea. I didn't think that far ahead. I guess we'll just wander around until we get lost and try and find our way back eventually." He said.

"Oh, that sounds just great." Garcia said sarcastically.

"Alright, well let's go then." JJ said as she walked forwards. Her hand was in Will's so he was dragged along with her unexpectedly.

Henry and Jack ran ahead of her and the others followed. I smiled at Derek as I walked beside him.

"I still haven't heard an apology…" He reminded with a grin.

I rolled my eyes, "So it's okay for you to prank me but not me to prank you? Double standards. You know Derek, you really—"

"Okay." He cut me off. "Let's calm down even though I am 99 per cent sure you're joking again."

I smiled and nodded.

He shook his head, "Truce?"

"For now…" I smirked. He smiled back and intertwined his fingers with mine. We walked quickly to catch up to everyone else and Reid dropped back to walk at my side.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Yeah…but there's no guarantee I'll answer it…"

He nodded, "Hey Derek, can you please give us a minute?" Derek rolled his eyes.

"Kid, you're killing me." He let go of my hand and walked forwards quicker and Reid and I stopped walking.

"You know your friend Elise?"

I smiled, "More of an acquaintance now, but yes I do. How do you?"

"Well I met her a few weeks ago at the library in Virginia. It's my regular library and I see her there a lot. I introduced myself to her last week and we talked and she asked what I did and I told her and she asked if I knew you. I said you were one of my best friends and she told me that you went to university together."

"We did." I nodded, "I had no idea she was back in Virginia, actually."

"Well, she gave me her number and told me to call her. I did last night to tell her where we were so she didn't think I threw her number or anything and I just want to know what you think of her."

"What I think of her?"

"Yeah…I mean, if you don't like her than I probably won't and I don't want to go on a date with her if that's the case."

I smiled and we started walking slowly so we wouldn't get separated from the others, "Reid, Elise is very nice. She's a bigger nerd than me, she loves chess, she speaks 4 different languages, she's kind and she's very empathic and does her best to understand. If you think you want to take her out on a date, then you do that."

He smiled and nodded, "Thanks."

"I'm one of your best friends?" I asked as we picked up our pace slightly to catch up to them.

"Yeah…you're in the top two."

"JJ's number one?" I smirked. He hesitated and I laughed, "Reid, it's okay. Second is fine with me."

He smiled again, "Don't tell Morgan about this or I'll never live it down."

I laughed and nodded, "This stays between us if you wish."

He thanked me again and caught up to Garcia who was holding Henry now. Derek dropped back to me, "What was that about?"

"That's confidential." I smirked.

"What are you, his therapist?"

"It was nothing like that but if he wanted me to be that then I would and I would keep it all confidential unless he said otherwise."

"For conversations sake, what if it were something serious? Like drugs or an alcohol problem or bad depression?"

"Then I would tell him that I would have to tell Hotch if he didn't and I'd give him…I don't know, a week?"

Derek nodded and his hand was linked with mine again.

"Did you know that I'm Reid's second best friend?"

"Who's his first?"

"JJ. Who else?" I smiled, "It's nice being told that you mean something to someone sometimes. It's like a reminder that you matter." I said as I looked at the trees above us; they created a nice shelter.

He smiled and stopped walking, pulling me back a step to him. He placed a chaste kiss on my lips, "I love you, gorgeous."

I smiled and returned the kiss, "I love you too."

* * *

The day was long and my feet and legs hurt by the time we finally got back to our hotel. Everyone came to our room again and I threw myself on the bed, "You'd think I'd be a lot fitter for an FBI agent."

"We sit down a lot." Hotch said as he sat down, clearly as tired as I was. Henry and Jack ran in and jumped on me on the bed. I rolled over and let out a quiet scream as they attacked me. JJ laughed and I knew it was her who encouraged it. They continued to laugh and jump on me for a short while longer before JJ dismissed them and they got down, joining the table with everyone else.

"You okay?" I could hear the smirk in Garcia's voice.

"Everything hurts."

"I cannot believe that I actually held up better than you."

"I'm not as physically inclined as you all seem to think."

"It must suck doing all this stuff on your period." JJ said.

I shook my head, "It's late." I looked down at my phone and a second or two of silence filled the room before JJ spoke again.

"Late…or not coming?"

I stopped scrolling on my phone and looked up slowly towards the wall that was in front of me. "Late…" I said with an unsure tone. I didn't want to think that this was happening again. I couldn't take it again.

"…Are you trying? Or…" Garcia asked hesitantly.

"Nope." Derek said quietly, shaking his head.

"Are you in a bad mood now?" Rossi asked me innocently.

I took a breath and looked at them, "No." I shook my head and stood up, walking over to the table and sitting between Derek and Will. Derek and Rossi were looking at each other. It seemed like they were communicating silently about something somehow.

Garcia noticed too but I think she knew what was going on, "Okay, where are we going tonight?"

"Some fancy place around the corner." JJ said. She looked at Haley, Garcia and I, "You three need to dress really nice so that I don't look ridiculous because I already have my outfit planned."

"So what colours are we not allowed to wear?" Haley asked.

"Have you seen my floral dress that's like a really nice brown colour with autumn type colours on the flowers?"

"Yes."

"Don't wear brown or the same shades as those colours."

"Okay." Haley nodded with a smile.

"Why does it matter?" Reid asked.

We all stared at him blankly and Derek laughed, "Ah kid, there's a lot you still have to learn. The only time women wear the same colours on formal outings is if it's a theme or they're bridesmaids."

"Why?" Reid asked.

"Because we like to compete." I said.

"No, Emily likes to compete. _We_ don't like to clash." Garcia said.

"I never used to be a competitive person." I said as I looked around in thought.

"Morgan's ego is rubbing off on you." JJ joked with a smirk.

"Ah, that's it." I laughed.

"Okay, let's all go get ready. We leave in an hour." Rossi said, "Wear your finest clothes."

"Rossi, Reid, wear red ties." Garcia said.

"Why?" Reid asked.

"Just do it." All three of the girls and I said in sync.

"Wait, did you say an hour?" JJ asked as we all stood up.

Rossi nodded.

"An hour is not enough, Rossi!" I stressed as I turned and walked to the cupboard quickly. I opened it to the see the dresses I had in there and I saw a bag hanging. I took it out, "What is this?"

"I bought it for you." Derek smiled, "JJ helped me out…but I made the initial decision."

"Aw, thanks." I smiled. Garcia walked to her room and the others left through the door to theirs. Derek walked over to me and I kissed him as another thank you and took the deep blue dress out. It was so beautiful and definitely meant for tonight.


	17. Day 3 Part 3

**Prentiss**

The restaurant was one of the most beautiful and most expensive places I'd seen. Even the large round table we were on was more beautiful than anything I had seen in Virginia. The 3-course meal was great and I was in a great mood after Haley, JJ and Garcia kept making jokes and talking about things that always made me happy.

JJ was wearing her brown and floral dress, hair down and simple makeup. The dress went to just below her knees with a slit bottom. Will and Henry were both wearing a brown tie of the same shade to match. Haley was wearing a deep purple mullet dress and her eye makeup stood out a lot more than JJ's. Her hair was done up in a fancy bun. Hotch was wearing a tie of the same deep purple colour and Jack was too. Garcia was wearing a red dress that very nicely complimented her figure, went to just above her knees, curled flowing hair and her makeup was a lot more vibrant than any of ours. It was Garcia's way of doing things. Rossi and Reid were both wearing red ties to match her. I wore a deep blue dress with lace on the top and three quarter lace sleeves, reaching above my knees, shorter than Garcia's. I loved it and I was surprised that JJ and Derek had chosen it. My hair was in a low loose bun with a braid circled around it, Garcia's doing. My makeup was classic. Winged eyeliner, long lashes, contour, burgundy lipstick. I couldn't be bothered doing anything else.

"Em, come to the bathroom with me." JJ said, standing up. I stood too and caught her smirk directed at Derek. We walked away from the table and to the restrooms.

"What was that smirk for?" I asked her when we walked in. I walked to the mirror and she went to the end stall.

"He glared at me for stealing you so I shot him a smirk to rub it in." She didn't sound completely truthful but I decided not to pry on that part.

"You're all acting very strangely tonight…"

"Are we? I hadn't noticed. Sorry." She walked out of the stall and to my side, washing her hands. She turned to walk out but I stopped her.

"Is there something going on that I don't know about?"

She gave me a slightly offended look, "Emily, I don't keep things from you unless I have to. Considering they would all know if something were to be going on, then I would be allowed to tell you. I'm not keeping anything from you."

"…Okay." I let go of her wrist and walked out a step behind her. We made our way back to the table and sat back down. The whole table went silent and I looked around suspiciously. My eyes landed on JJ, "You totally just lied to me."

She rolled her eyes and sat back, linking her hand with Will's. Their eyes all went to Derek so I followed them and look at him too. He cleared his throat and sat forward. I don't think I had ever seen him this nervous in my life. I knew what was to come. I knew this was the question I had been awaiting since I regretfully told him I wasn't ready. He looked into my eyes for a few seconds, trying to see something.

"What?"

"You know, I don't think I have ever felt so strongly and so in love with anyone as much as I have with you. I never even knew it was possible to find someone so kind and beautiful and just…perfect." He paused for half a second as he took a clearly nervous breath, trying to calm himself down. I bit my lip to try and hide the smile that would give away my answer before he even asked the question. "I can't begin to even consider spending my life with anyone else. Emily Elizabeth Prentiss, will you do me the honour of being my wife?" He put an opened small velvet blue box in front of me and awaited a reply with the rest of the silent team. I don't even think they were breathing. I wasn't breathing; I was holding my breath and I hadn't noticed. I didn't notice the tears in my eyes until now either. The ring was the one in that magazine that we were looking at in what seemed like forever ago.

I stared at the ring for a few seconds before looking at him at my side. My elbows were on the table and my clasped hands were covering my mouth. I smiled at him and nodded, "Yeah." I whispered quietly, unable to speak above that volume.

He let out a breath, "Good, because that was the worst 5 seconds of waiting in my life." I laughed quietly and he grabbed the ring from the box. I held my left hand out to him and he slid the ring onto my third finger. The team and others around the restaurant clapped and I felt my face flush red. I hoped it wasn't that noticeable. I moved quickly and put my arms around him. He returned the hug willingly and kissed me when I finally pulled away.

"I'm not the one getting engaged and I'm still unbelievably excited." Garcia said once we parted.

"If he's marrying me, he's marrying you." I smirked at Garcia.

"We are one." She laughed and I joined her.

I looked back at Derek, "You're marrying this whole team and their partners. If that's not commitment, I don't know what is."

I looked at JJ. "See? I had to lie to you." She smiled.

"Were you all in on this?"

"Why do you think we came to such an expensive and elegant restaurant that really only Rossi would go to?" Hotch smirked at me.

I laughed and nodded. My hand was now linked with Derek's, resting on my knee. Garcia was almost jumping up and down and Reid looked extremely happy.

"I think Garcia and Reid are more excited than we are…" Derek said.

I nodded in agreement, "I'm assuming they let you in on something I said the other day."

"That you'd accept if he asked again? Yes, we did." Reid smiled wide, proud of his and Garcia's part in this. They high fived.

"Sneaky." I shook my head.

"And he took our advice and bought the ring that we circled ages ago in that magazine." JJ smiled.

"I noticed." I nodded. I looked at my new fiancé, "How long have you had this?"

"Since the day after you circled it."

I raised my eyebrows, "This was expensive."

"I know, I paid for it. I got a deal though."

"You did?"

He nodded and took another, longer box out from the pocket inside his suit jacket and gave it to me. I took it and shook my head. "Too much."

"You were very forceful over that." He said. I gave him a questioning look and opened it. It was the beautiful silver bracelet I wanted from the same store. I smiled at him and shook my head.

"Show." JJ said curiously. I turned the box around to show them the bracelet. "Ah yes, the one you begged for."

"I didn't beg, I just made it very clear that I wanted it." I smirked. I looked back at Derek, "You didn't need to do that."

"Yes I did." He rolled his eyes, "Just accept it instead of trying to pretend that you didn't want it."

I laughed, "Thank you."

Garcia took the bracelet out of the box and ordered me to hold my preferred wrist out. I held my left out to her and she clipped in around. She closed the box and put it back in front of me and I looked at the bracelet on my wrist and then the ring on my finger. "I feel like it's my birthday or something."

"Now I have to think of something to get you for that." Derek said.

"No you don't. It's only next month so the bracelet can count as a birthday present."

"Are we just forgetting the fact that you two just got engaged?" JJ spoke before Derek could reply.

We both look at her and nodded, "Kind of."

"Why?"

"Because what else are we going to talk about?" Derek asked her.

" _When_ are you going to get married? Tomorrow? Next week? Months? Years?"

"Well not tomorrow because Derek likes his family and we can't really afford anything right now so I don't know, Jayje." I said.

"What if I pay for the whole thing for you? Will you do it next week?" Garcia asked.

"No." I shook my head.

"Why not?"

"Because weddings are expensive and I'm still a complete wreck."

"Well you're keeping it together well." Rossi complimented.

"Thank you. I thought so too."

"I don't." Reid said casually.

"Neither." Hotch contributed quietly.

"I thought I was doing okay." I said to them.

"You're very self-conscious this week and you never really used to have that problem. We already knew you weren't okay because the previous case we had, you are not motivated to do anything and you're normally happy to entertain Henry and Jack but over the past few days, you've tried but you haven't really put much effort in. I have more but that look in your eyes is telling me shut up before you make me shut up." Reid nodded.

"I'm self-conscious because I have a huge arse scar on my stomach, the previous case was just majorly overwhelming and I can admit that maybe it was too soon for me to come back. I don't think I have ever been motivated to do anything that isn't work-related, entertaining Henry and Jack is really freaking hard and yes, my eyes were telling you that."

"But what you're saying is—"

"Reid, conversation over." Derek cut him off defensively. I smiled at Derek appreciatively and looked back at Reid with an enjoyable smile. I stuck my tongue out at him. I love winning arguments with him.

"How old are you?" Hotch shook his head and rolled his eyes.

"12." I joked.

"Are you and Derek going to have a baby?" Henry asked me.

I hesitated, "We don't know yet."

Rossi changed the subject quickly.

* * *

Derek and I went back to our room, walking with everyone else. It was late and they all decided to go to bed straight away. I unlocked to the door and Derek locked it behind him. I dropped my bag on the dining table and turned around to my fiancé. I was unexpectedly met with his lips pressed against mine. I smiled as he kissed me multiple times. "Lucky they all went back to their rooms because this was killing me." He whispered quickly before kissing down my neck. His hands met the zip at the back of my neck and he slid it down as he guided me backwards towards the bed. He pushed me backwards lightly when I got to the bed and I assisted him when he got frustrated with the sleeves of the dress. I laughed at his trouble before loosening his tie, pulling it off from around his neck and unbuttoning his shirt. He already took his suit jacket off when we walked in.

He lifted me slightly and positioned me back down so my head was on a pillow, making me as comfortable as possible. What a gentleman. I completely stripped the dress off and he struggled with the bra clip. I laughed again and did it for him.

"I hate women's clothes; so difficult to remove quickly." He said as he kissed down my neck and across my collarbone.

"I hate belt buckles." I said as I tried to undo his. I felt his smile against my chest as he reached that area. "Don't laugh at me."

"You laughed at me!"

I rolled my eyes, "Shut up and kiss me."

"Your wish is my command." He smirked and his lips crashed against mine again.


	18. Day 4

**Prentiss**

I got my period this morning, putting to rest the constant worry I had since yesterday that I might have been pregnant again. Maybe I would again in the future, but not yet. I was still told to wear a bathing suit today. I thought we were just hiking and exploring caves but apparently there were lakes and waterfalls and things that would require a bathing suit. I guessed I would be forced into swimming again. I contemplated just wearing casual clothes, nothing that you should be swimming in, but then I realised that no matter what I was wearing, one of the 5 guys would force me into the water somehow. I had a bad morning, tears and sorrow filling me.

I slipped my sunglasses into my bag and walked out of the hotel room, locking the door behind me. I had insisted that Garcia and Derek go ahead of me as I was going to be late. I wasn't hungry so I was later than I needed to be. I walked into the café and over to the table where JJ waved at me. I sat down between Derek and Hotch, "Hey."

"What took you so long?" Reid asked.

"I slept in."

"No you didn't, Derek said you've been up for hours…"

I looked at him, "So you can propose to me in front of everyone but you can't lie for me?"

"Not the same thing." He shook his head.

I sighed and looked back at Reid, "Sorry, I was just lazy and didn't get up."

"Just so you're not disappointed with me, I tried lying for you." Garcia said quietly from beside Rossi.

"Thanks Pen." I smiled.

"Were you actually too lazy to get up or you couldn't get up? Because we heard you crying when we walked passed your room…" JJ called me out.

My shoulders slumped, "I was not that loud."

"No, _we_ didn't hear you, _JJ_ heard you." Will said.

"She put her ear up to the door." Haley nodded. JJ made a guilty face and Hotch's small laugh broke through.

"You're a creep."

"No, I just wanted to know if you were up."

"Then knock." I raised my eyebrows.

"Well, I didn't want to disturb what might have been…happening." She glanced at Henry and Jack.

"You don't want to disturb it but you want to hear it?" Rossi asked, "That's sick, Jennifer."

"Okay, we have young children and Reid present here, let's drop this subject." I said.

"Hey." Reid said, faking an offended tone before laughing.

"I don't even want to know what's going through Garcia's head right now." I said, looking at the distracted Penelope.

"I was thinking about who would be weaker and…give in first." She looked towards the underage boys. I raised my eyebrows.

"Oh, Emily easily. With one touch." Derek said as his fingers moved from being linked with mine on me knee to brushing against the inside of my thighs. I jumped and grabbed his hand, flicking it away.

"Do not do that." I said sternly. The whole table laughed and I glared at him. I assumed Will repeated that action with JJ as she yelped quietly and jumped. He tried to keep the laughs back as he looked away from her.

"Are you okay, mummy?" Henry asked her. She took a deep breath and nodded before glaring at her boyfriend.

Haley gasped quietly and moved Hotch's hand back towards him, "Never do that again with anyone else present." He laughed with Will and Derek. Rossi and Reid smiles were amused. Garcia looked shocked about what had just happened.

Derek's hand brushed against me again and I slapped his hand away, "One more time and I will break your hand."

The whole table laughed and I shook my head at him. The breakfast meals were brought out. I was surprised when everyone else had a plate in front of them and one was still placed in front of me. I wasn't even here when they ordered.

"That was not me, it was Hotch. He didn't accept that you didn't want to eat." Derek said when I looked at him. I looked at Hotch and he glanced at me with a small smirk.

"You're proud of yourself." I shook my head.

"Your pancakes are getting cold." He said casually, the smirk growing slightly.

I sighed and ate with the rest of them.

* * *

We walked up large hills, always in view of the beaches and we were approaching the first cave that Rossi had lead us to.

"How do you know where these are?" Garcia asked. She was more tired than I was today.

"I bought a map with them marked out on it. I have learnt today that I'm not very good at following maps without marked roads on them." Rossi said as he handed the map to Reid. He smiled and took it willingly. He glanced at it and confirmed that Rossi was taking us the right way and not in the opposite direction like I had started to think.

The vegetation, consisting of both beautiful flowers and bushes and weeds, was very overgrown. "Do they have snakes here?" I asked as I jumped over the crack that marked the separation of two of the rocks we were walking on. It wasn't small enough to step over lightly but it wasn't big enough to need a running head start. Henry stopped at the crack and panicked. It wasn't large, but neither was he. JJ jumped over and Will picked Henry up, throwing him lightly to JJ. She caught him and put him back on the ground. He ran forwards straight away, catching up to Reid.

Jack was walking on his own towards the side of us. We were on a dirt track that was hard to see if you weren't looking but Jack was on the grass and weeds to the right. I looked at Hotch and Haley to see where they were. They were watching him and talking quietly. I untangled my fingers from Derek's and went over to Jack, "Hey, what's up?"

He stopped walking and looked up at me. I crouched down and gave him a small smile, "Are you okay?"

He nodded too quickly.

"Liar. What's wrong?"

"I don't like profilers." He said quietly, shaking his head.

"Yeah, me neither." I agreed. He laughed, amused because I _was_ a profiler and then he kept walking. I stood and caught up to him, "Hey, I was still talking."

He stopped and gave me an evil smile. I smirked and tickled him. He tried running away but I caught up to him and did it again. Once I was done trying to cheer him up that way, I waited to see if it worked. He ran over to Hotch's left side and smirked at me as he hid himself behind him.

"Jack!" Henry called when he stopped to look at something. Jack ran off to him immediately and I returned to Derek's side, just in front of Haley and Hotch.

"Thank you." Haley smiled at me.

I smiled back and nodded, "Has he been like that all morning?"

"Yeah. I think he just woke up in a bad mood." She said.

"He was up pretty late last night." Hotch added.

We stopped walking when Reid stopped, "This is where it's marked, but I don't see anything cave like."

We all looked around and I saw a darker colour compared to the grey rock behind the vines and growth in front of the rough surface. I walked over to it and pulled away some of the vegetation to reveal an opening in the rock to what I suspected to be the cave we were looking for. "I win." I said as I turned around. "I feel like a professional explorer."

"Is that even a thing?" JJ asked.

"…I don't know, but I feel like this isn't safe." I said as I looked back at the cave, "Derek?" I motioned for him to go. They all laughed and he sighed, walking forwards. He walked over and I held the small torch I had out to him. He took it and walked in.

"Do we put vines back in front of it and run?" Rossi asked.

JJ smirked, "That would be interesting. He would be so scared." We all laughed at the thought and I turned back to the cave.

"You okay?"

"Yes." I knew he was rolling his eyes. I smiled and walked in behind him, followed by the others. It was large inside and several of our group had torches shining around. It was clear that it was rarely visited, the vines at the entry gave that away anyway.

There were glow worms on the walls and roof of the cave. It had unusual patterns in the rock caused by erosion and weathering and it was dark but it was beautiful.

"Well, I wasn't expecting something this pretty." Haley said from Hotch's side, their hands intertwined.

We spent a while looking around before we decided to head out and continue to the next cave that the map would lead us to.

* * *

We went out for dinner at a different restaurant. It was still fancy, but nothing compared to last night. "Last night really was planned just for us, wasn't it?" I asked Derek quietly. "This place is beautiful, but it doesn't compare to last night."

"Last night was surprising actually, surprising as in I was impressed when Rossi could get a reservation at that place in such short notice. I was terrified to propose, but he, Reid and Hotch took all day to convince me and Rossi made the call only a few hours before the set time."

"Does it feel weird holding my hand with a ring on my finger? Because I think it does."

"Not weird." He shook his head as he pulled my chair out for me like a gentleman. I sat down and he sat beside me, "Different, yes, but not weird." He planted a soft, torturous kiss on my lips that left me longing for more that I couldn't have.

JJ sat down at my right and sighed, sounding frustrated. I turned to her and looked at her eyes with a faint red ring around them. She had been crying. "Hey, what happened?" Will and Henry weren't here.

She shook her head and sniffed. Garcia sat down across from me and stopped, "Wow, I don't like tears. Why are there tears?" This brought the attention from everyone else.

She smiled weakly at her and then to everyone else, "I'm fine guys, really."

"Where's Will?" Reid asked. JJ took in a breath and shook her head, picking up a menu to hide herself with. More tears dripped from her eyes and she wiped them away quickly but only Derek and I could see because we were at her side.

"Jayje?" I asked quietly.

She lay the menu down, "That wasn't fooling anyone." I raised my eyebrows when she looked at me, waiting for an answer of some sort. She sighed, "We had a pretty big fight, that's all."

"Did he do something?" Garcia asked.

"Yes, but I'll bet you a thousand dollars I'll be the one apologising."

I looked behind me where Henry ran up to JJ and Will walked through the door. "I'll take the bet." I said as I stood up. I walked to Will and grabbed his wrist roughly, pulling him back out of the restaurant with me.

"Emily, what're you—"

"What did you say?" I cut him off.

"What?"

"To JJ, what did you argue about and why is she crying because of it?"

"I don't really think that's your business…"

"It became my business the moment I saw my best friend crying because you did something. What was it?"

He sighed, "We argued because I brought up how rarely we were…together, and I'm assuming you know what I mean by that. She blamed it on me and I blamed it on her absence and job and said she wasn't being very good to Henry and then I said some more things about it that I regret and I was going to tell her that tonight."

"Tonight doesn't cut it. Go in there and apologise in front of everyone and kiss her and sit down and you can discuss it further later. And don't ever talk about her job like it's a bad thing because she saves more lives than you could ever imagine and she in a great mother to Henry and she does her best to keep you happy and content with your life so keep your opinions to yourself."

He raised his eyebrows, "Okay…"

I walked to the door and opened it, "After you." I motioned for him to walk through. He took a calming breath and walked in. I followed him and saw the whole team looking at us with curious and shocked faces. JJ had her head in her hands. He walked to her and put his chin on her right shoulder as I sat back down at her left. I knew my face looked furious and bitchy but I wasn't ready to change it yet.

"JJ, I'm sorry. I didn't mean what I said and I know how important your job is to you."

She took her hands away from her face slowly and placed them under her chin to hold her head up. She smiled at him weakly, obviously forgiving him immediately. He returned her smile and wiped the tears from under her eyes. She turned to me, "You mind watching Henry for 5 minutes?"

"That quick?" I smirked, "Derek can't even do that."

Her mouth dropped open and she scoffed, "So we can _talk_ for a minute…"

I smiled and nodded, "Oh, sure."

"Thank you." She gave me wide eyes and smirked as she stood up. She turned to lead the way and Will glanced at me.

"You break her heart again and I will break your jaw." I said to him quietly, although the whole table heard it. He snickered and followed her.

"Whoa, okay, what is that about?" Garcia asked once they were out of ear shot.

"I'll tell you when there are no children present." I said quietly. "Let's just say that I _used_ to like Will a lot more than I do now."

"Okay, chill." Derek said as I felt my eyes go cold again. I hated when JJ was upset about anything. I was definitely overprotective of this team.

Haley changed the subject and they talked about it until JJ and Will got back. JJ sat back down beside me and leant over, although her voice was not as quiet as she planned. I'm almost certain the whole table heard it, "You couldn't have been a little nicer?"

"He didn't deserve sympathy." I said casually.

"You could have shown—"

"JJ." I cut her off aggressively.

"Why are you angry with me!?" Her voice was louder and more high pitched now.

"I'm angry with everyone!"

"Why!?"

"I don't know!"

"Hey." Will warned.

"Oh, do not start with me." I glared at him, attitude in my voice.

"I'm scared…" Garcia said quietly.

Reid started to spit out facts and I threw the napkin that was folded neatly in front of me, "I am going to hit you."

"Sorry…" He said quietly, putting his elbows on the table and his hands on his chin, looking at the table. I glanced at Haley and we both laughed quietly. She had asked me earlier today if I ever wanted to hurt Reid when he continuously spoke about facts that were unnecessary.

"Sorry Reid," I said, taking a breath.

The waitress came over to take our orders before he had a chance to reply. He smiled instead of speaking.


	19. Day 5 and 6

**Prentiss**

I apologised to Will, JJ and the rest of the team for my behaviour last night at dinner. When we all sat down to breakfast, Reid started talking to me about hormonal mood changes and how to reduce the change and anger and I ended up standing up half way through his sentence and walking away. I spent the rest of the morning in my room watching TV until Derek came back and said we were leaving. He said that the girls lectured Reid and that he said he wasn't going to speak about it again because I scare him. That didn't make me feel great. I didn't know that I really did scare him, I just thought it was something he said all the time. He was only trying to help and make conversation, but he could have picked a topic that didn't involve me.

We watched and swam with dolphins and we snorkelled all day. Even I went in the water a few times, but I refused to put that stupid looking thing on my head, so I just relaxed in the water, having my own fun as they had theirs. They were looking at underwater caves, too, but I decided against that. I hated going far underwater and I would probably feel too closed in and claustrophobic. So, I sat in the boat for hours, reading my book in silence with the captain doing his own thing.

We just got back to our room with everyone after dinner and we were talking and drinking as we always did.

"Why didn't you swim today?" Haley asked me, raising her eyebrows.

"I did for a while. I just don't enjoy swimming as much as everyone else." I loved swimming…privately. Derek gave me hard eyes that said "I know you're lying and I'm going to question you later" but I ignored them and smiled at him warmly.

No one thought anything of my reply and returned to their conversation. "Hey Reid." I got his attention quietly. I motioned for him to get up and follow me. I stood and walked through Garcia's room and out to the sand on the beach. He followed a step behind me.

"You okay?" Reid asked, "Because you can tell me if you're not."

I smiled and nodded, "I know, Reid. Thanks."

"So you just chose me to accompany you out here?"

"I wanted to talk to you about something but I didn't really get the chance today."

"Did I upset you?"

I stopped walking along the sand and turned and looked at him. "Why do you always assume that _you've_ done something wrong?"

He shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know. Whenever anything happened as a kid, it was my fault. I guess I just assume everything still is."

I shook my head, "You need to be easier on yourself, Reid. You never do anything negative, okay? I actually wanted to ask you why I scare you."

He hesitated and looked away uncomfortably.

"I'm not mad or upset or anything, I just want to know what about me scares you. My personality, my appearance, the people I know, what I'm capable of doing…" I suggested a few reasons.

He cleared his throat and looked at the sand beneath us, "All of that, I guess."

"Well, I don't really know how to fix that. You don't need to be afraid of me, Spencer. I will never intentionally do anything to upset or hurt you. Physically, mentally, emotionally etcetera."

He nodded, "I know."

"And I'm sorry for snapping at you a lot and I'm sorry for walking away this morning. None of it has anything to do with you, okay? It's just hormones and anger and disappointment and whatever else you can think of that has been caused by other things, but not you or the team."

He nodded in understanding and smiled.

"Thank you for forgiving me."

"Thanks for telling me that not everything is my fault."

I smiled, "No problem, but Hotch is standing at the door and watching us suspiciously so let's go back."

We walked back quickly and smiled at Hotch. "What's going on?" Hotch asked quietly.

"Nothing." Reid and I said at the same time.

"I don't like big secrets being kept from me."

"Hotch." I smiled, "Honestly, nothing. I just needed to apologise for being moody, that's all."

He looked at Reid for confirmation. He nodded and Hotch returned the nod, "Okay. We're playing poker."

"Yes." Reid said quietly as we walked in. I laughed at him and sat back down between Derek and Rossi when we reached the table.

"What was that about?" Derek asked, not bothering to keep his voice down or anything.

"Nothing." I shook my head, "I'll tell you later if you're dying to know."

* * *

Last night was quick and I soon woke with a mild hangover and a sudden urge to shop as I realised that that is what we were doing today. I jumped up quickly from under Derek's arm. He was awake already and he sat up, "You're awfully cheerful this morning."

I smiled at him, "Shopping."

He laughed and got up as I walked backwards into the bathroom and motioned for him to follow with my index finger.

I showered with my fiancé and we were late to breakfast again but by a shorter amount of time today.

"What is with you two and being late?" Garcia asked disapprovingly.

"How did you get through our room unnoticed?" Derek asked, avoiding her question.

"I wasn't in my room last night; I went out with Rossi and Reid and crashed on Reid's couch. Now why were you late?"

Derek looked at me to reply and I hesitated, "We were distracted and occupied."

"Oh." She smirked, "Do tell."

"Ah, not with the children here." JJ raised her eyebrows.

"I wouldn't have whether the children were here or not. Garcia, do I need to send you to rehab so you can get over the strange obsession you have with my fiancé?"

She smirked, "I'll keep my dirty thoughts to myself."

"Are you excited for today, Emily? Garcia said you would be excited for today." Henry said.

"I've never been more excited in my life to go shopping and be able to wear real clothes, not swimsuits." He laughed but I don't think he understood my comment. I smiled and looked at JJ.

"Don't worry, I said the same thing." She laughed.

"Remind me that I need new heels."

"You have three pairs _at least_ in your room…" Reid said. "Not to mention the ones your probably have at home."

"Oh hun." I said quietly, shaking my head, "You have a lot to learn."

"When you go on a date with Elise, don't ask her how many pairs of shoes she owns." Derek said.

"Emily!" Reid stressed.

I lifted me hands in defence, "I did not tell him. I promise, I didn't say a word."

"How do you know?" Reid asked him.

He smirked, "Garcia got into your phone last night while you were strolling the beach with my girl, pretty boy."

"You're texting her already?" I smirked at him.

"She's insane, Emily! You said she was nice!"

"She _is_ nice."

"She's weird! And this is coming from _me._ I don't mean to kink shame, but _whoa_."

I broke into laughter that I couldn't contain along with the rest of the team.

"And she has a weird thing for frogs and she photographs mating animals and she go to schools when the last bell rings and greets all the kids that have never met her before and she is unusually close to her brother."

"Oh yeah, I knew that." I nodded, "I was always wary of why her brother was the only person she would talk about. Strange."

"Did you just say this woman 'greets kids that have never met her before'? Are you sure we don't need to arrest her?" Rossi asked.

"Don't arrest her, she has a thing for handcuffs!" Reid said.

"So does JJ." Will said quietly. We all looked at the two of them and tried to keep the smiles and laughs back as JJ stared at him with wide eyes and her lips forming a shocked 'O'. "What? It's not my—"

"Stop talking!" JJ cut him off in a strained voice.

"Wow." I said quietly and nodded, "To be honest, I would have guessed Haley before you."

JJ dropped her head into her hands, "I'm never going to be able to look any of the males on this team in the eyes again."

"Oh, females are fine. We understand." Garcia laughed.

"Oh yeah, you have a thing for handcuffs too." I pointed to Garcia as I remembered that conversation. She stared back at me with a smile that hinted to passive aggressive anger.

"Hey, you have a thing for…um…" JJ tried to think of something but came up empty.

I smiled at her and laughed, "Better luck next time."

"One day, I will embarrass you to great lengths in front of this team." She said with a small smirk, "And I will never let anyone forget it."

"Maybe I should bring that photo of you in high school again…" Garcia said quietly.

"Oh come on, it was a phase that every teenager goes through."

"I don't think I ever had a goth phase." JJ said.

"Yes you did." Garcia nodded with a laugh, "After finding Emily's photo, I took great joy in digging into your high school life too."

"Oh god…" JJ said quietly and looked down, "I thought we were a team here."

"There are no teams in this game." I said.

"Does that mean I can embarrass you, because I know a lot more than they do." Derek said to me. My eyes widened.

"Speak and die." I warned.

"Okay, student…" He smirked.

JJ raised her eyebrows at me as my eyes widened. "Really?" She asked, "That's worse than handcuffs."

"One time." I shook my head, "And why do you think we never did that again? Because it wasn't interesting."

"I wouldn't imagine Derek being a good teacher, though…" Haley said casually.

"Well thank you." Derek laughed. "But let me tell you, Emily is not the most innocent of—"

"Okay." I cut him off, "I'm going to stop you right there and we're going to change the subject because this is going downhill very fast. You don't want me to start talking about you, do you?"

"Go ahead." He motioned for me to speak, doubting I would say anything.

"He has a thing where if I—"

"No, stop. I didn't actually think you'd do it." He cut me off and looked down with a guilty smile.

I smirked and nodded, "That's what I thought."

* * *

 **Guys! I need a huge favour from all you lovely readers. Can you please go and take the poll I created this morning? It's for my next Fan Fiction and I need to know who to make Emily end up with. Thanks! And thanks for the continued support I'm getting for this one as well!**

 **-A xx**


	20. Back in Virginia

**Prentiss**

We got back to Virginia after 8 days in the Bahamas and we were due back to work tomorrow. Derek and I went home and saw our pets and we made dinner and ate with candles, just how I always preferred it whether we were going for romance or not. Tonight was casual and I was in sweatpants and a loose t-shirt by 8:30. Derek went out while I was showering and came back in record time with movies, ice cream and chocolate.

"I was just going to get the ice cream, but then I remembered that it's like Niagara Falls so I got you chocolate too." He said as he sat down beside me. He had just put the movie in and he threw a blanket over us.

I ignored his Niagara Falls comment and snuggled up to his side, basking in the warmth he provided. He kissed the top of my head and I looked upwards to him. He planted a kiss on my lips then. "I love you." I whispered.

He smiled and lifted me slightly, laying down and pulling me down on top of him on the couch, "I love you too, gorgeous."

"Wait!" I stopped the movie as it started and jumped up. I ran down the hall and pulled the mattress off the bed. I started to drag it out of the room with extreme effort. Derek looked around the corner a second after a squeaked quietly when I fell backwards. I had pulled too hard on the mattress and it was stuck where it was so I fell. He smiled and laughed at me before walking down, pulling me up and taking the mattress himself. "That level of strength you have is awfully attractive." I smirked as he lay it down in front of the TV.

"Oh really?" He returned the smirk and put his arms around my waist. He kissed me once and squeezed my arse before going to the kitchen. I got blankets from the room and lay them on the mattress as he returned with spoons for the ice cream.

I lay down and he put the spoons on the table, walked over and straddled me teasingly. It was driving me insane, every smirk, every kiss, even every look. He placed a few playful kisses on my lips and rolled off to my side.

I groaned and lay on my side, facing him, "Can you stop doing that please? My hormones are going insane."

He raised his eyebrows, "You, Emily Prentiss, are feeling hornier than me? That's a change."

I rolled my eyes, "If you menstruated, you'd understand."

He smirked, "Maybe I'll ask Reid for some statistics tomorrow."

I dropped my head back and rolled back over so my back was to him, "I swear to god, if Reid says one more thing about my cycle…" We both broke into laughter.

I picked up the remote and pressed play as the opening scene of Me Before You started again. I knew he wasn't a fan of romantic drama movies, but I was when I was in this state and I was very happy with his choice. JJ and Garcia were both texting me all night about wedding stuff and I didn't know what to tell them. Derek and I hadn't discussed anything since his proposal.

I didn't know who to make my maid of honour, either. So, Garcia and JJ would be two halves of a whole and Haley would be a bride's maid. They were only females I really talked to.

"Who's your best man?" I asked after a while of ice cream, chocolate and the movie.

He looked at me and smiled, "Reid. Hotch and Will are groomsmen."

"Have you asked Reid already?" I asked out of curiosity.

"No, but I figured he wouldn't say no. How are we involving Henry and Jack?"

"Ring bearers? They can have a pillow each; that could be cute."

He nodded in agreement and ate more ice cream.

"Wait, why isn't Rossi a groomsman too?" I realised that he wasn't mentioned.

"Well, he can join them afterwards, but he needs to walk you down the aisle." He smiled. I had forgotten about that part of a wedding. I was so focused on what everyone else would be doing that I forgot I actually had to participate.

"I don't think Rossi will want to do that." I shook my head.

"Do you want him to?"

"Well, he is like a father, so I would love it, but he won't want to."

"…We'll see." He said as he paused the movie.

"What are you doing?"

"This is more fun." He said as he positioned himself to face me completely. I sat up and crossed my legs, facing him. "Who is your maid of honour?"

"I can't decide and I can't offend either of them so JJ and Garcia are both maid of honour. They'll share the duty if I tell them to, no arguments. Haley will be a bridesmaid too. Oh, wait…do you want me to ask your sisters instead?"

He smiled and laughed lightly, "Emily, you choose who you want to choose and trust with the responsibilities. Personally, I wouldn't trust Desi with any of it."

I laughed and nodded, "Okay. Do they know that you proposed?"

"There was something else I needed to ask you. Do you mind if they come down for the weekend? I figured we could have dinner and announce it then."

I smiled and nodded, "We can do that."

* * *

Work was boring and slow. Apparently, all the serial killers took the day off so we were left in the hot bullpen doing paperwork in complete silence. I had been resting my head in my arms laid across my desk for about 10 minutes now.

"Why is it so quiet in here?" Garcia asked as she walked over a step ahead of Hotch and Rossi.

I lifted head, "Please tell me we have a case."

"Nope, sorry." She shook her head. I groaned and dropped my head back down.

"Rossi, I believe Emily has something to ask you." Derek said. My head shot back up and I swung my chair around quickly, staring at him.

"Can you shut up?"

"You're bored, he has nothing to do, you need someone to—"

"Derek." I cut him off, "Shut your mouth before I shut it for you."

"Well we can see how long this marriage will last…" JJ said quietly.

"How are you going to shut it for me?" He smirked.

"With my gun. Do I look like I'm in a joking mood to you or does my appearance just scream 'piss me off'?"

"Did you just threaten me?" He grinned.

"Paperwork." I pointed to his desk.

"Yes ma'am." He joked and spun his chair back to his desk. He picked up his pen and returned to what he was doing.

"Who's walking you down the aisle?" Reid asked curiously.

"…No one."

"Or…you could ask Rossi…" Derek said quietly.

"Is that why you wanted to talk to me?" Rossi asked.

" _I_ didn't want to talk to you, _Derek_ wanted me to talk to you." I defended.

"Yes, that is why she wanted to talk to you." Derek said casually, still writing. I stood and walked to his desk, snatching his pen, "Hey—"

"I am about to shove this so far up your fucking—"

"Agent Prentiss." Strauss cut me off sternly. I closed my eyes and dropped the pen back to his desk. He tried to keep his laugh back but he wasn't successful. "I do not appreciate that language in my building."

"Your build—" I stopped and took a deep breath before I said something that would either cause an argument or cost me my job, "I mean, of course, Chief Strauss. It won't happen again."

She nodded, "Congratulations on your new titles." She greeted the others briefly and exchanged a few words with Hotch before walking away.

I stared at Hotch, "You told her?"

"You almost yelled at her." Garcia smirked.

I ignored her comment and looked at Derek, "Do not test your limits." I walked back to my desk as his grin grew and I sat down.

"Have you discussed or planned anything?" JJ asked.

"Not really." I lied.

Derek snickered, "You've planned and replanned the whole thing a million times and we all know it." He looked at JJ, "We discussed some stuff last night."

"Who's going to be your maid of honour?" Reid asked as he looked between Garcia and JJ.

"Strauss obviously. We're the best of friends." I avoided answering that question and joked instead.

"But seriously." Reid rolled his eyes.

"…I haven't thought about it." I lied.

Derek spun his chair around and stared at me with disapproving and irritated eyes, "Can I speak to you, please?"

I looked at him and shook my head, "No."

"Fine, I'll do it in front of them all. Why aren't you telling them anything?"

"I have nothing to tell." I gave him warning through my eyes.

"Bullshit. You have everything planned, stop pretending you don't. I understand that you don't let people in much but this is your team and wedding plans aren't exactly things people hide."

"I have three guns on me right now." I said to him quietly.

"Wait, you have three guns? I only have one…" Reid said. "And another in my apartment."

"I have three as well. We have more places to hide them," JJ said, "Shh." She hushed him at the end.

"Sorry, continue arguing." Reid said to us.

"I'm offended, actually." Derek continued like we weren't interrupted.

I dropped my head to the side with an obvious and aggravated face. "Why?"

"Because you not telling them either means you don't want to get married or you don't want people to know that you're getting married."

"Please tell me you're joking."

"Believe it or not, I'm being serious right now."

I shook my head and spun back to my desk in my chair, "Think what you want."

He went to speak again but Rossi bet him, "Emily, to my office. Now."

I sighed and dropped my pen again, standing and following him up the few steps and around the catwalk to his office. He closed the door behind me and smiled at me, "Something you want to ask me?"

I sighed my signature irritated sigh and walked to the window across the room, keeping my back to him and looking out at the buildings surrounding ours. I wanted to ask him despite his knowledge of the question already but something was scaring me out of it. What if he said no? "…No."

"Or considering I already know the question, do you just want me to give you the answer?"

I cleared my throat and nodded, "Yeah."

I heard his footsteps approach and his hand touched my elbow as he spun me around, "Emily, of course I'll walk you down the aisle."

"…Really?"

He rolled his eyes, "What are father figures for?"

I smiled, "Thanks Rossi." He returned the smile and nodded. We hugged for a few seconds before I pulled away and wiped the tears from my cheeks.

"Why are you crying?" He held his laugh back.

"Because I'm getting married and you're going to walk me down the aisle but we're arguing and I'm emotional right now." I laughed.

"You're only arguing because you were too scared to ask me this and you're too scared to tell us anything. You can tell us, Emily."

"I know."

"And we're not going to judge you for having it all planned out or for being excited or whatever you're worried about."

I nodded, "Thank you."

He walked to the door and opened it, motioning for me to walk out. He put his arm around my shoulders as we walked back to the desks in the bullpen, "I hope I don't regret accepting that offer."

I laughed and shook my head.

"To be honest, I can't imagine you wearing a wedding dress…"

"Oh, me either." I agreed and we both laughed. I brushed my hand over Derek's shoulder gently as I passed him to apologise for now. I would say it later.

"Thanks Rossi." He said quietly with a smile.

"My pleasure." Rossi returned the smile.

"Do you need to talk to JJ and Garcia?" Derek asked me.

"Do you need to talk to Reid?" I challenged.

He smirked, "I will."

"So will I. Stop pressuring me." I said softly. I hadn't noticed that Hotch wasn't here anymore until I saw him walking back over.

"The day has been slow; we're allowed to leave. Drinks." He said.

"Hallelujah." I said as I put the paperwork I still had on my desk in a neat pile and I lifted my bag. The others did too and we walked out of the precinct together.


	21. George Prentiss

**(Let's pretend Emily doesn't know her father, okay? Okay)**

 **Prentiss**

Our afternoon out turned into a night out. I was drunk before long and dancing with either Derek or JJ, Garcia and Haley, who had joined us along with Will. The boys were both at friends' houses tonight. We had retired to Rossi's and I was genuinely surprised that I could walk. JJ was worse off than me, Haley wasn't falling like JJ; she could walk straight. I don't think Garcia was very drunk at all. Maybe just passed tipsy. Derek stopped drinking so much when he realised where I was going so he was tipsy, but he was fine and spent the night around me as a protection detail. Reid was drunk too and that isn't something you see every day. Hotch, Will and Rossi were all fine to walk around, but they were passed tipsy too. Derek and Garcia were doing the best, much to everyone's surprise.

I had been sitting at Derek's side for a while now, very quiet. Because I used alcohol as a coping mechanism when I lost my child, every time I was drinking, I had memories that I just wanted to forget. Now I was a depressed drunk instead of my old happy-go-lucky drunk. Derek knew that, JJ and Garcia knew that, but I don't think anyone else did. That was the real reason I didn't want to go out with them in the Bahama's; I didn't want to fall apart.

A few times tonight, I had felt the tears coming. Each time I just asked JJ to distract me and she pulled me to the dancefloor again. Now there was no dancefloor and there was talking and laughter from everyone except me. It didn't take much longer for Derek to notice my silence.

He kissed my temple, his arm already around me, "Are you okay?"

I nodded quickly but I didn't look at him or I would have felt too guilty to lie. I tried to ignore his eyes on me and I faded out of the conversation and became absorbed in my mind. After I while, Rossi's voice pulled me back to the present time.

"What?" I looked up. I didn't know how long he was trying to get my attention, "Sorry…" I added quietly as I wiped the single tear on my cheek. They were all looking at me and that told me that he was trying to get my attention for a while. I stood up and walked out quickly, down the hall to the bathroom. I heard Derek follow behind me.

I knew he'd make me let him in so I didn't bother trying to close the door before he got here. He closed it behind him and put his arms around my waist from behind me. I was looking into the mirror and wiping the fresh tears. He waited for me to calm my breathing and stop the tears.

When they stopped momentarily, it was evident that they wouldn't stop completely. He spun me around gently and pulled me into him, kissing the top of my head as I buried my face into his shoulder. I put my arms around him and breathed in his scent that I loved so much. He held me for a while until my tears had stopped and I pulled away. He placed a few comforting kisses on my lips and placed his hand on my lower back, keeping me close to him.

"What happened?"

I shook my head and lay my head against his chest, "Memories."

He sighed and kissed the top do my head again, "I'm so sorry, princess."

I pulled back and planted a kiss on his lips, successfully keeping the tears back undetected. "It's not your fault, it's mine. I should be apologising to you."

"I think it was the criminals fault." He said quietly.

I nodded in agreement, "Okay, let's go. It's very quiet out there."

"Do you want to go home?"

"We'll go home when you're ready to go home. We're not leaving on my account." We did have work early tomorrow, but I'm sure we'll manage.

He nodded. Even if he wanted to go home now, he wouldn't say it because he knew I'd assume it was because of my little break down. I opened the door and we walked back to the living room where silence had fallen.

I sat back down and picked up the scotch that Rossi insisted I try and enjoyed and I drank the half of the glass back. I could feel the disapproving eyes of Derek on me. "Don't look at me like that."

JJ picked the conversation back up, catching on to how awkward I felt and I gave her a thankful smile. She returned it and spoke when Hotch asked her a question.

The night went on until Derek decided that he should probably get me home. He got a cab and we went straight to bed, not feeling like staying up any longer.

* * *

"Prentiss, I need to speak with you." Hotch said quietly, standing beside my desk. He tried not to get the attention of the others but failed. I nodded and followed him to his office. He drew the blinds closed over the window as I closed the door. He motioned for me to sit down and sat in his seat.

"Have I done something?" I asked as I assessed the shades that were almost never closed.

He shook his head, "No, but I need you to tell me what happened last night."

"…Nothing…" I shook my head.

"Prentiss, I need to know if you really are fit to work. You can take more time—"

"Hotch, it's been long enough. I'm fine."

"What happened?" He asked more forcefully.

I sighed and looked away, "I just shouldn't be drinking that much anymore. It brings back memories. But I'm fine, I promise."

"Is drinking the only thing that brings back the memories?"

"…Well no, but it brings back the ones that make me emotional. I used alcohol as my coping mechanism so every time I drink a lot, I remember a lot."

"And you're positive that this won't affect you or Derek while working or in the field?"

"I am 100 per cent certain of it." I nodded.

He nodded, "Okay." I was surprised that he didn't try for further information. I assumed he just respected that I didn't want to talk about it. "You can go."

"Thanks for checking." I smiled gratefully and stood up, walking out.

I sat down at my desk and felt the eyes of JJ, Reid and Derek on me. I was hungover and I had a headache so I hadn't been talking much today.

"Everything okay?" Reid asked.

I smiled, "Yeah, he was just checking in."

"After last night." JJ nodded.

"How do you even remember last night?" I smirked at her.

She laughed, "Honestly, I have no idea."

"Are you even hungover? I am."

"Yeah, but not bad. I can deal." She nodded.

"We've got a case." Garcia said quickly as she walked out.

"Don't you have to check with Hotch first?" Derek asked her.

"Trust me, we have a case." She said as she walked up the steps and walked into Hotch's office without knocking. His blinds were open again and he saw her coming anyway.

We all stood up and walked to the catwalk and to the round table room. I knocked on Rossi's window as we passed so he would see us going there. He joined us within seconds.

Garcia and Hotch walked in within a few minutes. Hotch gave us each a copy of the file as Garcia got the screen connected to her laptop. "Okay, five bodies found in five days in Seattle." She said as she clicked the button on the small remote.

"First victim, Lindsay Towers, 23, found with an upside down cross drawn on her forehead and 23 stab wounds all over her body."

"The inverted cross for centuries was considered a Christian symbol and was believed to be because the Apostle Peter was crucified upside down. One story is that he requested to be upturned to face down because he didn't feel worthy of dying the same way as the Christ. The inverted cross then became a symbol of humility. Today, it's often associated with atheism, humanism and the occult. It is also often used as a symbol to represent the worship of Satan. In horror movies, it's sometimes used to indicate demonic activity. Basically, if it's used in a church it's to reference to Peter and his death but if it's used anywhere else it's usually an anti-Christian symbol or the symbol of Satan." Reid explained.

"Lovely." I sighed. "And overkill. _23_ stab wounds?"

"Personal, maybe?" JJ suggested.

"Garcia." Hotch encouraged her to continue.

"Second victim, Harry Windsor, 14, found with the same symbol on his forehead and 14 stab wounds."

"They determine the number of stabs by their age." Rossi said.

"Wide victim pool…" Derek said quietly.

"Third…" Garcia glanced from me to Hotch and then back to me before continuing, "George Prentiss…68, same symbol, 68 stab wounds." She spoke that one quieter. The whole team fell silent and looked at me.

"Do you know him?" Derek asked the question they were all thinking.

"Even if we were related, I wouldn't know." I said, trying to keep my voice casual. That age was around the age my father would be right now. I never met him; he and my mother divorced when my mother had to travel again the first time after my birth.

"Are your parents divorced or together?" Reid asked quietly.

"Divorced. I only saw my father for the first few months of my existence. Garcia." I told her to continue.

"Fourth, Bethany Lowe, 19, same symbol, 19 stab wounds. Fifth and most recent, Sara Marx, 36, same symbol, 36 stab wounds."

We discussed it for a short while longer, trying to bring up different possibilities and options for who we would be looking for.

"5 days, why were we only contacted now?" JJ asked Garcia.

"I have no idea, and I'm sorry I can't be of much help right now." Garcia said.

"Can we be ready in 10?" Hotch asked as he stood. We all nodded. "Wheels up in 10." We all got up and walked out to our desks to get our go bags and do whatever we needed. I got my phone out of my pocket and walked out the glass doors, standing around the elevators and waiting for my mother to pick up.

"Emily?" She asked.

"Hey, what's my father's name?"

"Why?"

"We have a victim with the last name Prentiss. What's his name and how old is he?"

She hesitated, "…George. Late 60's, I'm not sure I remember."

I sighed, "Thanks."

"Wait, Emily, is it him?"

I looked to the glass doors are the team walked through them, Derek carrying my bag.

"Emily?"

"Yeah, it is." I said quieter as they approached me. "I need to go but I need to tell you something first."

"…Okay…" She sounded hesitant, or maybe she just didn't care.

The team was standing with me now, waiting suspiciously. I hesitated and looked at Derek, "Mother, I'm engaged." I said it quickly, trying to get it over with. There was silence, "Mum?"

"Good for you."

"I just told you that your only child is engaged and all you have to say is 'good for you'?"

"Was that not what you wanted to hear? Did you want to hear my real thoughts on it? Marriage is stupid, no one has the time and you certainly cannot handle it. You shouldn't be married. Get another cat."

"What do you mean I 'certainly cannot handle it'?"

"You know what I meant, Emily."

I scoffed, "I have to go. You should find a new ex-husband; yours is dead." I hung up and slipped my phone into my pocket. The team was silent and shock was spread on the 6 faces in front of me.

"A little too far, don't you think?" Derek asked quietly.

"No. She told me that I wouldn't be able to handle marriage and that I should just get another cat."

"I don't think that deserves how you ended that call…"

I rolled my eyes and took my bag from his shoulder. I walked to the elevators but I could still hear them.

"She's gotten very bitter…" Rossi said.

"These last few months have changed her." Hotch agreed with him.

"Yeah, I know right." I said with my back to them. "It's terrible."

"Whoops…" JJ mocked. I could hear the amused smile in her voice, "But you're right; she is different."


	22. Questions and Answers

**Prentiss**

The case felt long and it was difficult and very disturbing. Hotch was kind enough to separate me from my father's murder scene, body and anything he could avoid me seeing or hearing. I didn't know whether it would affect me or not, I never knew him, but I wasn't sure and Hotch didn't want to risk it. The case was finally over after 3 days and I was exhausted.

JJ was sitting across from Reid as they played cards on our long flight back to Virginia. Derek was at my side and Rossi and Hotch were across from us. It wasn't often Hotch sat with anyone on the plane. Derek was asleep at my side, his music playing through his earphones. I had my feet up and my arms around my legs, my knees pulled my chest and I was watching the darkness out the window. I felt like I was looking at an endless universe, seeing nothing but black. My mother had tried calling me twice but I had declined her calls both times.

She rang a third time and I picked up before it woke Derek, "Agent Prentiss." I wanted her to think that her contact wasn't saved. I have no idea why, but I figured she'd assume I didn't care.

"It's your mother. Can we get dinner or lunch sometime? I want to apologise and meet your fiancé."

I sighed, "Sure."

"When works for you?"

"I don't know, I'm on a plane right now and 4 hours from home. Next weekend should work."

"Great. Text me with a time and place and I'll be there. I love you, Emily."

"Bye." I didn't return her words and hung up before she could say anything else. I went to Reid's contact

" _Statistics on positive mother-daughter relationships?"_

His phone buzzed and he picked it up. He turned and looked at me, "92 per cent of adult mother-daughter relationships are positive."

I sighed, "I texted you instead of asking you aloud for a reason, but thanks."

"You know, you could always ask her—"

"Reid." I cut him off and shook my head, "You don't want to go down that road."

He nodded in understanding and turned back to JJ. Silence fell over the plane again except for the quiet speaking of JJ and Reid when they had something to question in their game. "You can't just change the rules, JJ!" I could hear the mocking smile in his voice.

"I can do what I want." She smirked at him.

I looked at Rossi and Hotch. Hotch was doing paperwork, Rossi was reading a book. I watched them for a few minutes, contemplating whether I should speak to them now or not. Hotch sensed my eyes on him and lifted his head, looking at me. I went to speak but I closed my mouth and looked away, shaking my head at myself.

"Prentiss…" He said quietly, "You _can_ speak." I looked back to him and Rossi was looking at me now too. I glanced to make sure Derek was still asleep. I took a breath and looked back to them.

"I'm sorry for being different now." I apologised quietly, "I don't mean to be…not me or bitter or sarcastic or just plain unpleasant to be around. I'm trying to be me again."

"You don't need to apologise." Hotch said.

"Yes I do." I nodded, "I'm being rude and unhelpful."

"We understand, Emily," Rossi said, "We just wish you'd talk to us about it instead of bottling it up and letting it out all at once."

"Easier said than done." I said quietly.

"Are you seeing your therapist again?" Hotch asked.

I looked at him for a few seconds before nodding, "Yeah."

"No you're not." Derek said quietly before opening his eyes.

I looked at him, "How long have you been awake?"

"I haven't been asleep at all and the music isn't playing."

"Well can you go to sleep please?"

"Why?"

"…Because."

"You want to ask them something that you don't want me to know about."

"Go to sleep."

"Nope." He smirked.

I rolled my eyes, "Fine, I'll wait until you're not around then."

"I'm always around." His smirk lingered. I pushed him gently and shook my head. I looked back out the window and slipped back into silence.

"Oh, look what you did, Morgan. We finally got her talking and now she's going back into her shell." Rossi said.

"Okay, sorry, I'll turn my music up." Derek said.

"No, the courage is gone now." I sighed.

"The courage? You needed to be courageous to talk to them?"

I looked at him, "I'm sorry that not everyone is like you and can just people in when they want to."

"Are you going to be like this over the weekend because my mother and sisters will probably love it and I don't need you all being moody and sarcastic the whole time."

"Do they know?"

"I told you, I'm telling them tomorrow night."

"No, not about the engagement, about the…past few months."

"Oh…uh, no, I didn't tell them."

"Good." I said quietly. The three of them looked at me in silence for a few seconds. "What?"

"I'm waiting for you to get upset." Rossi said.

I rolled my eyes and shook my head, "Doesn't faze me anymore."

"Unless you're drinking." Hotch said quietly.

"He knows too? Cool." Derek said, sounding relieved that it wasn't just him having this information for some reason.

"Well thanks to Hotch, the whole plane knows now. Yeah, I know you're listening Reid and Jayje."

"Busted." Reid said quietly. JJ laughed with a guilty smile.

"Sorry." She said.

"I wanted to know what you were going to ask that Derek isn't allowed to hear." Reid said.

"Me too, kid." Derek agreed.

* * *

Derek, JJ, Reid and Garcia watched as I walked to Hotch's office where he and Rossi already were. "This isn't fair!" Derek called as I ascended the steps. I glared at him before I walked in and closed the door behind me. Rossi walked to the window and drew the blinds closed and I could almost sense their irritation. I smiled to myself. The morning sun shone through the window. It was already hot outside.

"What?" Hotch asked, seeing the smile.

"I can almost feel their irritation and frustration from here."

"Is it actually this serious or are you just deliberately annoying them?" Rossi asked.

"I'm deliberately annoying them but I definitely don't want Derek to know anything."

Hotch sat down at his desk, Rossi took a seat on the other side and motioned for me to sit beside him. I walked over and sat down, suddenly feeling very anxious of what was to come.

"Prentiss, you're nervous." Hotch said.

"Yes, I am. I don't know if I should be asking you guys this or not or if you're going to tell Derek or if I'm going to—"

"We won't tell Morgan unless necessary, you can ask us anything and you're not going to break down in front of us." Hotch cut me off. I was surprised that he knew I was going to say that.

"So, what questions do you want answers to?" Rossi asked.

"Is marriage hard?" I came straight out with it.

"Yes." They both said. "You definitely need to be committed and ready to make an effort." Hotch added.

"And it's stressful, right?" The both nodded, "Well I'm not handling stress too well at the moment and I don't want to fuck it all up."

Rossi smiled, "Emily, if the only thing you're worried about is if you'll be able to handle the stress, I think you'll be just fine. Believe it or not, you're coping with the recent stresses in your life better than most people would and I know that you will handle it because you love Derek and you want this."

"Do I?"

"You wouldn't have accepted if you didn't. You might think you just accepted because we were all there and you didn't want to embarrass him, but you said yes without hesitating. You wanted it and you didn't hesitate to have it." Hotch said.

"I hesitated a little."

"You were just shocked." Rossi compromised.

I smiled and continued asking the questions I wanted answers to. It had been almost an hour and a half by the time I ran out of questions. They didn't complain or indicate that they wanted to leave or anything. They seemed like they enjoyed the questions.

"Sorry for taking up your time…" I said quietly.

"No, we enjoyed it." Rossi smiled.

"For the first time ever, you actually spoke to us about personal things voluntarily. That's what we want you to be able to do." Hotch said.

I smiled, "Thank you so much."

"Are you feeling better now?"

"Yes, definitely. Thanks." I repeated my thanks and walked out. I went down to my desk where the four of them were.

"That was an hour and 23 minutes." Reid said, "And you're not crying so now I'm even more curious as to what that is all about."

"And you will continue being curious because I am not going to tell you and if they want me to talk to them again about anything, they won't tell you either."

"Just tell me if it's bad or not." Garcia said.

"What do you define as bad?"

"It's bad if you're thinking or leaving the BAU; it's not if you're staying and it was about something completely unrelated."

"Then it's not bad. I'm not going anywhere, Garcia."

"Good." She said quietly.

"But I do need you and JJ to follow me." I said quietly as I walked away from Derek and Reid. Hotch and Rossi walked out of Hotch's office and I saw the four men watching us intently as I turned around to Garcia and JJ. "So I've thought about it…and I couldn't possibly choose between you so would you both like to share the role of my maid of honours?" I didn't know how to ask, and once I said it, I wished I had asked differently.

They both smiled, "Of course!" Garcia said excitedly and threw her arms around me. I smiled and returned the gesture. I hugged a just as excited JJ next and they both started talking about stuff to plan as soon as we reached the desks again.

"Wait, we can google stuff." JJ said as she turned her chair to her computer. Garcia nodded and stood beside her.

I smiled as I watched them and looked at Derek. He smiled too and nodded. I motioned to Reid to question if he asked yet or not. "Yeah, I already asked the kid. He's over the moon."

I smiled and laughed as Reid smiled proudly and stuck his tongue out at Garcia.

"Have you talked to Haley?" Derek asked.

"I am seeing her tonight." I said as I glanced at Hotch.

"She'll be elated." He smiled.

"I still need to talk to Will." He said.

"Oh, he's not busy tonight if you want to come around, by the way." JJ said.

I looked at Derek, "Ring bearers."

"Oh yeah. Hey Hotch, JJ, do you think Jack and Henry will be our ring bearers?"

"Jack will be excited to be a part of it." Hotch nodded with another smile.

"Henry will do anything if he can stand metres from Emily." JJ laughed. I laughed too and looked back to Derek.

"See? It's turning out exactly like you wanted it too."

I smiled and nodded. I knew he had already asked Hotch and told Rossi that he would be standing with the groomsmen after handing me off.


	23. Wedding Day

**Prentiss**

I was standing in the old decorated room in my long white gown with lace covering the top of my chest just above my breasts and lace sleeves. It had an open back until the dress started again with the fabric at my lower back and into a sweep train at my feet. My hair was done in a slow fancy bun and my lace white veil clipped in the top. My makeup was professionally perfect and I hardly recognised myself. I was panicking. There was so many people out there. The team, Derek's family, people from my past that I hadn't seen in years, plenty of people from Derek's life and most importantly, Derek himself.

I heard a small knock and Rossi walked in, "You ready?"

I turned and looked at him before shaking my head. There were tears in my eyes that I was trying desperately to hold back so the makeup wouldn't run and I wouldn't ruin it. "I can't do it."

"You can do it." He said softly, stepping further inside the room. He got his phone out and typed quickly before walking over and hugging me. A minute later, JJ walked in.

"Hey, Em, you look magnificent, Rossi won't let you fall and once you're out there, you won't see anything but Derek. Trust me on this, you'll be completely fine." She walked over and adjusted the veil in my hair. "Showtime."

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I could not back out of this. I was expecting a small wedding but when making lists, more people were coming than Derek and I had thought. We had a sign at the front reading "Today, two families become one. Please choose a seat, no a side" So at least there wasn't 80 people on his side and 10 on mine.

"Drink this and let's go wow them." He held a glass of water to me. I drank it quickly and walked out of the room beside Rossi and down the stairs where the others waited. I felt the back on the dress drag behind me as I went down the staircase.

"They're ready. Are you?" JJ asked.

"No, but if I don't do it now then I'm not going to do it at all." I said quietly. Garcia handed a bouquet to Haley and JJ and kept one for herself. They had dark plum purple dresses with V-neck cross over thick straps. Our bouquets had pale purple flowers mixed in with the white ones that matched the colour of my dress. She handed me my bouquet and looked me up and down, walking around me.

"Perfect." She said excitedly before returning to Reid's side. The all complimented me and I felt my face flush red.

"Don't worry, the blush hides the red flush almost completely." JJ said quietly. I heard the pre-ceremony music stop. Silence fell for a few seconds before the softer music started to play, Haley and Hotch's cue to go.

Haley smiled at me before looking at Hotch and nodding. They walked forwards like JJ had made them rehearse several times and I felt my anxiety grow as I heard gasps, reactions to how beautiful Haley looked. "Oh god." I said quietly as I closed my eyes.

Rossi squeezed my arm tighter in comfort. JJ, Garcia, Reid and Will all turned to me. "Breathe. It'll be fine." JJ said quietly.

"You won't see anything but him and he won't see anything but you." Will assured.

"Are you two secretly married?" I asked before the cue for Reid and Garcia sounded. Jack and Henry ran in and my worry about where they were left me.

"Where have you been?" I asked quietly as I crouched to fix both of their ties that matched the plum purple dresses and the ties of the groomsmen.

"Sorry Emily, Henry tripped and ripped his pants and we had to get new ones."

My eyes widened and I looked over Henry. "Please don't let him fall down the aisle. Please." I said quietly to Jack.

"I won't, don't worry."

I stood as I heard the next cue. JJ kissed Henry's cheek quickly and she walked out with Will. I put my hand on Henry's shoulder so he didn't go with them. Eventually, I got the courage to lift my bouquet from the table beside me and I took another deep breath, closing my eyes and picturing Derek. I was doing all of this for him. Like every girl, I had always thought, planned and replanned my wedding, but none of it ever made me so anxious and stressed as the real thing.

The next cue and Rossi told the boys to go. Jack was holding one pillow with my ring and Henry was holding one with Derek's. Traditionally, they would be on the same pillow, but we changed it to benefit the boys so they were involved at the same level.

I heard the 'please stand for the bride' and then the music changed to the traditional music that played when the bride walked down the aisle.

"Ready?" Rossi asked quietly.

"As ready as I'll ever be." I replied. He smiled and squeezed my arm again before we started walking.

"I think I'm as nervous as you." He whispered as we walked around the plants in the garden that blocked off the room where the bridal party waited to walk from. There was a path to follow that was pre-decorated with small flowers.

"Just don't let me fall." I said quietly as we came into view of the standing guests.

"Back at you." I could hear the small smile in his voice. I smiled and tried not to laugh. My fear was rising by the second until I looked up and made eye contact with Derek. Will and JJ were right; he was all I saw. He winked at me and looked me up and down before raising his eyebrows. I smiled and laughed to myself silently.

Finally, I reached my fiancé, soon to be husband. Rossi kissed my cheek and gave my hand to Derek before taking his place beside Hotch a step back from Derek. I glanced and smiled at the three magnificently beautiful women to my left as I stepped up small lifted platform. My heels were tall and I was praying I wouldn't trip. I was successful in getting there safely and without being humiliated in the process.

* * *

I was very disappointed, offended and slightly hurt that my mother bothered to RSVP but not show up on the day. The whole team noticed that she wasn't there and they were all very supportive. "I told you, she deserves everything I give her." I said to Rossi quietly.

Derek and I had planned the seating differently to how we normally would. We sat at the head of the largest table. It was a circle with Derek's mother and two sisters to his left, me at his right and Rossi, Hotch and Haley were closed to my right side. The others were around the rest of the table. Normally it would have been Derek, me, his parents and mine, but considering we only had one parent each, mine not even being a real parent, we decided to be different. His close cousins and aunt at the closet table to his left, still close enough to speak with Fran, Sarah and Desiree.

My phone rang and I picked up my mother's call quickly, "I hate you."

"Hate is a strong feeling honey."

"You know what's a strong fucking feeling? Your mother not caring about her only daughter enough to go to her wedding. I fucking hate you."

"I'm sorry I couldn't be there—"

"I am over your apologies. Call me again and I will not hesitate to make your life a living hell. Understand?"

"Emily—"

I hung up and dropped my phone to the table. Derek put his arm around me and pulled me closer to him, kissing my temple. I cleared my throat, "Sorry about that."

Garcia's phone rang and she picked it up, "Hello? No, sorry our team is out tonight. No, we cannot reschedule, we're at a very important wedding, find someone else." She hung up and slipped her phone back into her clutch.

"You can do that?" Reid asked.

"I'm not meant to…" She said quietly.

"They'll find someone else." Hotch assured.

"Everyone, let's welcome our newest bride and groom to the dancefloor for their first dance as a married couple." The vocalist of our live band announced. Rossi insisted on a live band in case CD's skipped and he also insisted on paying.

"Oh dear god no." I said as I stood up. I drew laughter from the whole table and my _husband_ as I took his hand and we walked to the floor metres from the table we were seated at. 'All of Me' by John Legend played, the only song that Derek and I had both willingly agreed to. "Do not let me fall." I said quietly to him as he lifted my hand so Henry could run between us as we walked to the dancefloor. I saw the embarrassment in JJ's eyes and she pulled him up onto her lap, scolding him quietly.

We danced and I didn't fall once like I had expected myself to in these heels. He spun me around a lot and I was all smiles and laughs, feeling grateful now that my mother wasn't here to criticise and scold me for laughing during it. The song we chose was a surprise for everyone. We didn't tell a single person, so they had no idea until it started playing.

"Now can we call up anyone who's willing to try and compete with that for our next song." He said once 'All of Me' finished. He played 'Thinking Out Loud' by Ed Sheeran and made another announcement once that was done, "Don't worry, if you know the groom, you'll know we have some party music coming your way later, but for now, let us allow our scrubbed-up groom and stunningly beautiful bride enjoy another slow song."

"And now for the father daughter dance." The DJ called once the music had calmed momentarily and everyone had taken a break after the third song. Rossi and I stood back up and I took his offered hand. 'I Loved Her First' by Heartland began and Rossi kept me on my feet as well as he did down the aisle.

Eventually, I was allowed a break as the mother son dance was called. Derek and his mother danced to 'A Song for Mama' by Boyz II Men.

"Hey Em." Desiree leant over the table slightly. I followed suit and leant towards her. "What's it like to get married?"

"…I don't know yet; it hasn't really sunk in." We both laughed.

"Text me and let me know. I want to know if it's worth it."

"Will do." I nodded with a smile and we both sat back up.

Rossi leant towards me to whisper in my ear, "They like you."

"Good." I replied in a quiet, relieved voice, "I was hoping that would happen."

* * *

We were to speeches now. Derek's mother, aunt, two sisters and cousin had all gone first. There were a lot of funny stories and things I could tease him with later. Garcia was called up now. She downed her half a glass of wine and walked up. "Alright, just get hella drunk first then…" I joked quietly. Quiet laughter came from our table and stopped when Garcia reached the microphone.

"Ah, hi." She waved to the guests. I tried to keep my laugh back. She was so awkward. "Derek and I have known each other since I could remember, he is my knight in shining armour, I am his 'baby girl' and I cannot believe that Emily had the nerve to swoop in and take him away from me!" Laughter spread through the room, "But seriously, when Emily first joined our team at work, I was so filled with hatred. I couldn't understand why we needed to bring someone new into our close family and why it had to be an attractive female that I knew from the beginning, Derek would fall in love with. But then I actually talked to her for the first time, like, we introduced ourselves and I fell for her harder than Derek did. If I were a lesbian, I'm telling you, I would go for it." She smirked at me. "It was a dream of mine to have two of my best friends who were perfect for each other to marry if I couldn't marry them. Now, I thought the hope of that left when I discovered that Emily and Hotch weren't attracted to each other, not to mention that Hotch was already married…but then Derek broke up with his nightly girlfriend and I was like, praying to Christ that they would date and have babies and live happily ever after. Then Derek went to his next girlfriend, who wasn't Emily, and then his next, and his next and so on, and then one day, he storms into my office and says "Baby girl, get those wheels turning. Find me everything you can on Prentiss" and I was so confused. I was like, you've known her long enough now, I don't think she's a murderer, and then when I asked why, he came right out with "I think I'm in love with her" and that was the day my life both fell apart and turned into heaven." Laughter again. "And I feel like Derek will get embarrassed a lot tonight so I brought this photo to commemorate Emily's high school days…" She turned to the screen behind her.

"No…" I breathed. The picture came up and laugher roared. I dropped my head in my arms. "Kill me now."

Garcia's speech went on and then JJ was up next.

"I cannot compete with that, Pen. You've left me in a tough position." She laughed as Garcia and several others did before she continued. "So several months before Derek officially asked Emily out, little do they know that the whole team knew they were seeing each other beforehand anyway, and we heard them in Vegas…Emily, keep it down next time…Derek approached me about the rules of dating co-workers. I thought he was talking about Garcia and I just couldn't deal. I couldn't stop my laughter so I told him to ask Hotch and let's just say, his curiosity stopped there because let's be honest, Hotch is a very intimidating being, and then we're in Vegas, finished on a case. We all go to Hotch's room to continue our night on a quieter level. Emily and Derek were somewhere we didn't know at the time. We thought they were both out getting laid by strangers, but much to our surprise, they were getting laid by each other." She paused, not being able to continue in the laughter coming from her as she remembered the night and the morning after, "And then Derek was offended the next morning when Emily tried to cover for them and they ended up having a make out session in front of all of us. In front of _Hotch_ , and _Rossi_ and _Reid._ Reid is just a little boy!" Laughter again. JJ spoke through events and left a lot of people in laughter several times before her speech ended. Reid went next and left Rossi and Hotch for last.

Rossi went first, "Lay a hand on my daughter, I dare you." He joked, opening his speech with a warning to Derek, "So when I first met Emily, even I thought I might fall for her, just like Derek and Reid thought they would. And Garcia…but thankfully, I took the father figure role instead. Thank god for that; it just seems completely wrong now. When I met Derek, I thought he was an egotistical little shit, and let me tell you, I was _not_ wrong." Laugher erupted. Everyone that knew Derek knew that it was true. Rossi continued, his speech shorter than everyone else's once he ran out of scotch. Hotch went up next.

"I still don't know if this relationship is legal, to be honest, but hey, no one listens to Strauss anymore." Hotch started. My eyes widened. Strauss was here tonight after a long argument between Derek and I that he won. Hotch didn't even care, he laughed with the others. "But whether it is or not, our team is in full support. Emily pushed herself into our unit, staking out my office until I returned from a case and starting as a lap dog to try and get me fired. Then she tried to resign because she didn't want to get me fired and then lots happened and now here we are. Derek, as Rossi said, is an egotistical little shit, didn't listen to me when Emily first came and he wasn't the kindest of partners. But she grew on him, I guess, they're married now, so I assume she did something right somewhere along the road to change his heavily made up mind."

Hotch continued and then the DJ called Derek up for his speech to me. He kissed my cheek and walked up to the stage.

"As it's been stated twice tonight, my egotistical arse was not nice when Emily first came to the BAU. I was like Garcia, I didn't take to the idea of someone new joining us but my god, am I grateful. I fell in love the night that her first case with us ended and we went out for drinks and she danced with me. I actually had a real conversation and I was like, whoa, she's absolutely amazing. Then I fought it because she seemed completely uninterested, to which I'm pretty sure she was until like, the start of this year, and then I decided that I wasn't going to fight the _feelings_ I had for her, but rather I would fight for _her._ And it's always been her." Tears pooled in my eyes as he spoke and I think they did in his too, but he would never let them fall. Not in front of this many people. "As most of you don't know, and yes, I have asked Emily if this is okay with her, Rossi and Hotch, Emily fell pregnant a while back. My child, of course, she made it very clear to me that she was offended when I asked the same question. Then at 8 weeks, she was involved in an explosion that resulted in the loss of our child. This, as in any relationship, caused huge setbacks. She wouldn't speak, she wouldn't eat for a while, and we were both grieving privately rather than supporting each other despite offering the support. I thought it was over, I thought that that is what would separate us, first emotionally, then mentally, and eventually physically. Now she doesn't know this, no one does, but we had a night where we discussed separating because it was just so…much, and I left in frustration from the conversation. I got majorly drunk and I cried all night. That was the night when I realised that I literally wouldn't be able to live without her by my side. So, I didn't let us part, I didn't let her run when she tried on multiple occasions and I kept her as close as I could when she finally joined the team again and went into the field with what no one knew was no will to live at all.

I know this is going to make her cry so I'm going to stop that there. But Emily, you are the most beautiful person I have ever met, inside and out, and you gave me a new reason to quit every negative thing I used to do. You encouraged me and believed in me when no one else would and you inspired me to change so I could provide when you needed, which was a loving and adoring partner, a shoulder to cry on and someone to laugh with at any given time. Now, sure, I don't always appreciate it when you wake me up at 4 am because you can't sleep and you're bored and you come onto me, but let's be honest, I do that a lot more than you do and I'm not sorry. I just hope that we don't turn out like Rossi and get married 3 times, so let's just strive for one marriage. I love you with everything I have, my queen." He lifted his glass, followed by everyone else except for me because I was forcefully instructed to sit motionless and look pretty. "To the love of my life and my bride."

I had tears streaming down my cheeks as he and everyone drank from their glasses. I wiped them away the best I could without removing my makeup or smudging the eyeliner and mascara. I was called once Derek had sat down.

I walked up and smiled at Derek when he pulled stupid faces, trying to make me laugh. I shook my head and cleared my throat before I stepped up to the microphone. "I would like to start by thanked Fran for bringing such an amazing man into the world and into my life. It's an incredible feeling, meeting someone who means more to you than you ever thought was possible. I never thought that love was a real thing until I fell for Derek, and I didn't even know it then. I never thought it was love until about our fourth date, to be honest. Sorry Derek…" I smiled as he grinned and raised his eyebrows. I talked for about the same time as Derek before I thanked everyone for coming and I returned to the table with my team and family.

"That was beautiful." Haley said to me quietly.

"That was extremely nerve-racking." I replied.

"The fourth date, huh? Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe we only had two before Vegas…" Derek said.

I gave him a small guilty smile, "Yeah well, you were trying too hard."

"I was not. I wasn't even trying at all."

"Oh, well that's comforting…"

"Not what I meant."

I smiled, "I know."

We continued dancing all night to typical wedding songs and to not so typical wedding songs. I danced with every member of our team at least 3 times throughout the night.

* * *

 **Sorry, this was very long compared to what I usually write in one chapter and I sort of gave up writing the speeches.**

 **I'm ending this here as I have a long-awaited Twilight fanfiction that I'm still writing and I have two more CM stories in my head. I hope you enjoyed this. Let me know your thoughts.**

 **-A xx**


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